Doppelganger Effect
by Sar-kaz-m
Summary: Abby, look – Lester will buy pre-historic, and he’ll buy futuristic, but fictional? Not a chance." Set post-Alice miniseries by maybe a year real-world time, but sometime between when Primeval S2 ends and the start of S3.
1. Chapter 1

ONE

_(The Looking Glass Chamber, The City, Wonderland)_

'Ten of Clubs' was a title, not a name. His real name was Phillip. He'd managed to retain his rank and title by quickly and calmly switching his allegiance from the Queen – who frankly he'd always hated, capricious bitch – to Prince Jack Heart, now the new Red King of Wonderland.

With the title and the rank came responsibilities set by the King, and one of them was to monitor the ongoing importation of goods and intellectual materials from the Other World. So here he was, meeting with White Rabbit agents to ensure that all items wanted from the London portal were retrieved without problems.

Suits were sorting books into a carry case as Phillip spoke to the lead White Rabbit agent. "Any luck with the clean power source?"

"Negative," replied the agent. "After hydro-electric, our researches indicate wind still would be the best option. We can arrange to acquire a smaller unit for testing through the New York base."

"The King has in fact authorized a New York expedition. Once you confirm your team has returned, we can re-calibrate the Glass." The agent nodded and turned to complete final protocols with his team. A few minutes later he informed Phillip that all agents were present and accounted for.

"Very well," Phillip crossed the room to the Looking Glass head technician. "You may begin recalibration to the New York portal."

"Yes, sir." The technicians snapped to, disconnecting the London link up. But suddenly, lights and alarms started blinking.

"What's the problem?" Phillip asked.

"I'm not sure," replied the head technician. "It seems like we've picked up an extra portal, but that's not possible."

"An extra portal?"

"I'm guessing sir! But I think someone or something is coming through!"

With a blaring alert, the smooth surface of the Looking Glass rippled violently. Then, to everyone's shock, two figures tumbled through the Glass, landing hard on the ramp and rolling limply to the floor. Both were out cold. The young woman with short white-blond hair landed face up, but the other, a young dark-haired man, landed face down.

"How could this have happened?" snapped Phillip.

"I don't know sir, we're looking," another technician yelped.

"Calibration to New York is almost complete," called out a third.

"It should be impossible to come through _during_ a calibration," said the head technician.

While others dithered about the Looking Glass, the lead Agent carefully rolled the unconscious young man over onto his back.

"Sir! Sir!" he shouted, drawing Phillip's attention. The Ten of Clubs almost gasped when he saw the slack face of the young man. "It's the Ha–!"

"Get me a Scarab, NOW!" roared the Ten, interrupting. "You, you, and you, carry them. We're going directly to the Castle. Hold additional missions until further notice."

Obedient suits lifted the unconscious visitors carefully.

* * *

TWO

_(A guest chamber in the Castle of the King Of Hearts)_

_Three steps. It only takes three steps to go through an anomaly. You shut your eyes on the first step, because the light of the anomaly is so sparkling bright, it burns your retinas, and then you take the second step blind, but by the end of the third step, you open your eyes to an entirely different era of Earth's enormous history. There's no telling exactly when you are, because some eras can be 80 million years long, and there's a point when actual dating becomes completely meaningless. But then three steps back, and you're relatively safe and sound in the first decade of the 21st Century. _

_An anomaly had opened into the Eocene Era in a suburban neighborhood. A small troop of Adapidae Smilodectes, early proto-lemurs, had come through, and made a right mess of one elderly bachelor's home. Unfortunately, a few made it out the back door, and Connor and Abby had had a hell of a time rounding them up. But they managed while Jenny managed the neighbors, and Cutter watched over the anomaly. Finally, with a hand-truck of cat-carriers full of Smilodectes, he and Abby were to step through, let the creatures loose, and step right back._

_First part worked. Second part, not so much. _

_Together, Connor and Abby took one step into the anomaly towards home, Connor pushing the hand-truck, their eyes closed involuntarily. Step two was always blind. And step three – but in that fraction of a moment between steps two and three, Connor felt something grab him, grab his entire body, and he yelped in surprise. He heard Abby shriek in that same moment, and then he was falling! Falling through skies and clouds and his mind raced in panic. Did they somehow step through the wrong anomaly? What the hell was going on? Were they falling from an airborne portal, and would splatter all over the ground when they hit? _

_The whistling wind tore at his eyes and stole his breath and he wanted to scream for Abby but he couldn't hear anything over the howling air around him. _

_Then there was a sudden full-body blow of landing, like hitting the surface of water from a height, and the blow knocked him into blackness._

The sense of touch returned first. He recognized he was lying down, on something soft, comfortable. A soothing something-cool lay on his brow, covering his eyes.

Then, sound. The sound of two people conversing quietly but urgently somewhere nearby. Smooth cultured voices, but not ones he recognized. It took an extra moment before he was able to decipher words.

"–ot sure what happened. But as soon as Ten makes contact, he'll return and inform us."

"It must be something significant. Something must have happened. There's no reason for the Hatter to return without her, or with some other oyster girl."

The first voice was male, full of authority. The second was female, lush and soothing.

"Well, we'll find out as soon as he wakes up, won't we? There had better be a good explanation for this." The man was irritated.

"Jack, please," the woman said cajolingly. "Do be calm."

"We should just shake him awake," the man muttered.

"Don't be silly," the woman replied.

Hating to be talked over like he wasn't in the room, Connor tried to wake up, letting out a small groan. Immediately, someone moved to his side, and he felt the bed beneath him sag, as if someone sat on the edge. The cool compress was removed, and fingers combed through the hair on his forehead.

"That's it, wake up, Hatter," the woman's voice urged gently. "Open your eyes. You're safe and sound here in Wonderland."

_Wonderland?_ Connor thought with confusion. "Abby," he groaned.

"Wake up, then, come on."

"Did he say 'Abby'?" the man's voice asked. "Who's Abby?"

"The oyster girl, I presume. Hush."

Connor managed finally to convince his eyes to open. But it definitely wasn't Abby leaning over him. This woman was a different sort of gorgeous, with an oval face of perfectly even delicate features, surrounded by a mane of golden waves. Her lush red lips smiled gently at him, pleased. "Hello, Hatter. It's about time you woke up."

"Who–?" Connor croaked. The woman immediately offered him a glass of water, carefully trickling a bit into his mouth.

"There now, it's just Jack and I. Ten brought you here as soon as he recognized you. It certainly wasn't your best landing ever."

Connor shook his head weakly. "No – who are you?"

She blinked, surprised. "Why, I'm Grace, Hatter. Don't you recognize me?"

Connor frowned weakly. His whole body was sore. "Who's Hatter?"

The woman leaned back in shock, and the man appeared in Connor's line of sight. He was tall and lean and serious looking, with equally golden hair. "Hatter?" he asked carefully.

"I'm Connor. Connor Temple."

A profound silence greeted his statement. The woman Grace and the man Jack stared at him. The woman slowly stood and stepped closer to the man.

"Forgetfulness?" she asked.

"Not possible, they don't have it on the Other Side," Jack told her.

"He's been damaged, somehow," she said urgently. "That wasn't even his cover name, was it?"

"No, the cover name is David."

"Where is Abby?" Connor demanded, struggling to sit up, starting to feel both scared and annoyed. "And what the hell is going on here? Who ARE you people?"

The woman gasped suddenly. "Jack!" The man nodded as she went on. "He's an oyster!"

"And yet the resemblance is remarkable."

"Would you please stop talking like I'm not here and tell me where Abby is?" Connor snapped. He wanted to stand – actually, he wanted to run, but he wasn't sure his legs would support him yet. "What the hell do you mean, oyster? Where the hell are we?" Finally working up to a hoarse shout, Connor yelled, "And where's ABBY?"

"Calm down," the man ordered as the woman retreated. "The young woman – Abby – is in quarantine, for both her protection and ours. As for where you are – you're in Wonderland."

_Wonderland again_, Connor thought. "Right, pull the other one, it's got bells on it," he snarked.

Before the man could answer – and that answer would have been interesting, given the expression on his face at Connor's irreverence – the door to the chamber opened.

"Sire!" called the newcomer. "Sir Charles is here."

"Send him in," Jack answered.

Now Connor was getting a little concerned; he'd apparently just mouthed-off to a ruler of some sort.

His newest visitor was a tall skinny elderly man with snow-white hair. His curled moustache and goatee seemed oddly appropriate over the silver chain mail and white surcote he wore.

"Sire, I have come at your summons," Sir Charles announced with a flourishing bow. "How might I – Harbinger!" That last was cried with delight in Connor's direction, and now the young paleontologist was starting to feel like he was in a madhouse, since everyone seemed to know him, but not know him. But the elderly fellow took three strides closer, and then his delighted expression turned suspicious. "Wait – this is not the Lady's vassal! What manner of foul jest is this?"

"It's remarkable, isn't it? This oyster looks just like Hatter." Grace said.

Sir Charles frowned, a mighty expression. "Some foul sorcery has made him so, perhaps in an attempt to spy on us, or lull us into some false sense of security!" The knight drew his sword, and Connor couldn't stop the yelp that escaped him as he scrambled off the bed and away from the sword-waving oldster. "Reveal thy foul purpose, you imperfect evil copy!"

"I don't know what the bloody hell is going on here, but you're all cracked, you hear me? CRACKED!" Connor shouted, trying to keep any furniture between himself and the crazy knight.

"Everyone please calm down!" Jack, a King apparently, ordered in a firm but somewhat exasperated voice. As the knight lowered his sword, the King went on. "Obviously, there is some mistaken identity here. Now then," he turned to address Connor. "You say your name is Connor Temple, is that correct?" Connor nodded, still keeping an eye on the armed nutcase in chain mail. "So you do not recognize the name 'Hatter'?" At Connor's negative head-shake, Jack went on, "How about the name 'Alice Hamilton'?"

"No. Never heard of her." Connor flicked his gaze over Jack and Grace as the knight seemed to relax, sheathing his sword. "Where in the blue blazes am I?"

"You're in Wonderland," Grace answered.

"That's a book. There's no such place," Connor denied.

"Well, we do prefer it that way. Makes life so much easier," the King said with a sigh.

Another knock at the door drew everyone's attention. "Sire – Ten has returned, and the Lady Alice and the Hatter are with him! They should be arriving any minute."

"Excellent, let's settle this. Send someone to fetch the girl, if she's awake. We'll meet in the Throne room." Jack spoke the orders with the ease of someone expecting obedience. "Come, Mr. Temple. I believe all questions are about to be answered."

Grace led the way, as Connor fell into step beside the King. He kept glancing over his shoulder at the crazy knight, though, not comfortable with a madman with a sword at his back.

_to be continued...._


	2. Chapter 2

THREE

(_A quarantine room in the Heart Castle)_

Abby pounded her fists against the grey walls. The walls were grey, the floor was grey, the ceiling was only a lighter grey, giving off an indirect light. As far as she could tell, there were no doors, no windows into this perfectly cubical box of a room. It was constructed of some sort of cross between metal and plastic, and she couldn't scratch it or dent it or mar it in any way. There wasn't even a tinny echo to her yells for help.

She finally gave up, sinking to sit curled in a corner. All she remembered was that one minute she was helping Connor maneuver a hand-truck through an anomaly, then suddenly she was falling from a terrible height. The next thing she knew was waking in this grey box, like some bizarre specimen sample.

She sniffled a little. No doubt she'd been kidnapped or captured by Helen Cutter for some nefarious purpose. She could only hope that Cutter could rescue her.

She didn't imagine Connor rescuing her, which was strange, given the events several months ago, and that was a mental block she'd be forced to examine in the future.

Silent at last, she slowly noticed she could hear sounds from outside the box. Voices, getting closer. She got to her feet, pressing an ear against the wall. There were definitely voices outside.

Then suddenly the wall she was pressed against began to move. Abby backed away, nervously watching. The wall slid away to reveal a room where a stern man in a suit seemed to be controlling something, while another shorter man in a strange sort of robe and hat combination waited.

"Right then. Come with me, miss." The little man ordered Abby. When she hesitated, the one in the suit reached in and grabbed her arm, pulling her out and propelling her after the short man. Abby stumbled then walked quickly, following the loon in the funny hat, while mister rough suit guy brought up the rear.

Through a larger room, then up a flight of stairs, a turn and another hallway, and she could see people ahead, standing in front of a pair of large doors. A very tall swarthy man in a loony hat matching that of her escort seemed to be talking urgently with a normally dressed couple. The man and woman appeared to be listening closely. The woman had long dark hair and wore a short black leather jacket. The man had a brown hat perched on his head, with a matching brown leather coat. The tall one looked up in Abby's direction, and said something that made the other two look her way as well.

"Connor!" Abby cried, recognizing the man in brown. She started to run forward, past her escort, but when she got closer, she stopped suddenly. "Connor?" she asked, bewildered.

Because this was NOT the Connor Temple she knew. The man before her looked identical in almost every way to her geeky flat-mate…. except he wasn't. He had a completely different _air_ from Connor Temple. And of course, there'd be no reason for Connor to be holding hands with a woman Abby had never laid eyes on before.

"Sorry?" he said, and Abby's throat closed as she realized even his voice was identical. "Pardon, do I know you?"

"I–" Abby's hand flew up to cover her mouth. Oh god, what if she'd fallen through to some other timeline like Cutter said was possible, one in which she'd never met Connor Temple? But before she could descend into full-blown hysteria, she heard her name shouted.

Spinning, she saw Connor – another Connor, _her _Connor – jogging towards her. "Abby," he called, holding out a hand to her, and she couldn't help rushing to him, relieved to feel his arms around her. She wasn't alone in this weird place.

"It's ok, Abs, it's ok," Connor told her, hugging her tight.

"Well, this IS interesting," a tall blond man said consideringly, eyeing Abby and Connor, and the hat-wearing double.

"I see why you wanted us to come, Jack," said the dark-haired woman.

"Yer Highness-ness," the Not-Connor greeted the blond, sarcasm thick in his voice.

"Hatter." Jack replied dryly. "At least we now know that this man is definitely not you." He sounded almost disappointed. "Shall we adjourn to the throne room?"

* * *

FOUR

_(The Throne Room of Heart Castle)_

Connor struggled to keep his cool. But it's not every day one was presented with one's exact double. He had Abby clinging to his arm, which was quite nice actually, while everyone seemed to keep stealing glances between himself and his double during a flurry of greetings between the new couple and the three people Connor already had met. The crazy knight seemed garner particular affection from the newcomers. Other people in the hall whispered urgently to one another, pointing at him and his double.

Ironically, his double seemed amused by the attention, whereas it was starting to freak Connor out a bit.

"Wow," the brunette woman said once the eight of them were alone in the Throne Room. "Wow, it's really remarkable." She gave Connor a bright grin, then turned to his double. "It's your evil twin, hon."

"Alice, love, don't you think _I _should be the evil twin?" the other Connor asked ironically.

"Oh, probably," Alice agreed cheerfully.

"Please, everyone, be seated," Jack said, indicating a white conference table gracefully. It stood below a white dais bearing a red throne. The walls of the room were painted white with red and black playing card motifs. Everyone except the swarthy tall man moved to the table.

"Keeping the same-old, same-old, I see," Connor's double observed cheerfully, dropping into a chair and leaning back comfortably.

"Hatter, please don't needle, not now," Grace begged, a note of resignation in her voice, as if she didn't expect Hatter to accede to her wishes. Hatter smirked, but kept silent.

Connor and Abby sat together. Abby refused to let go of his arm, and she kept staring at the Hatter with suspicion.

"Well then, let me get everyone onto the same page," Jack began. "Yesterday, we were in the process of re-calibration the Looking Glass from London to New York, when somehow these two oys–" he hesitated briefly, "people suddenly fell through the Looking Glass. Naturally, Ten and the agents believed him," a hand indicated Connor, "to be the Hatter, and swiftly brought them here. Uncertain as to how they could have come through mid-calibration, and why Hatter would return without Alice, I immediately sent Ten through to New York to contact you," this was said to Alice directly, "For some sort of explanation."

"At which point," Alice replied, "I told Ten 'of course my husband is at home with me', and asked what the hell he was talking about!" She laughed.

"We were kinda in the middle of something, yeah?" Hatter added, and Connor was surprised to see both Jack and Sir Charles looked pained.

"Hatter!" snapped Alice. "We were washing the dishes, for goodness sakes." In a lower voice she hissed, "Do you have to make everything sound suggestive?" Hatter's grin answered _yes._ Continuing normally, Alice said, with a gesture across the table to Connor and Abby, "And now we're busily confusing the hell out of these poor people."

"So where are we?" Abby asked, and Connor suppressed a wince.

"Wonderland." Hatter announced brightly. Alice smacked his arm. "Ow! C'mon, love. You know I like seeing people's faces when they hear that."

"Be nice, Hatter."

"That's a kids' story," Abby countered. Hatter leaned forward and banged his head against the table lightly as everyone else chuckled.

"Does this look like a kid's story to you?" Hatter challenged back. Alice held a hand to her lips to cover a smile, though her eyes were laughing as she looked at her husband.

"I already went through this, Abs, and they're not going to change the answer," Connor whispered to her.

"It's not possible – it's a made-up place," Abby insisted.

"Why?" Alice asked suddenly.

"Why what?"

"Why isn't it possible? You're here, aren't you? You're awake. Your boyfriend is sitting next to you. We're all here. This is real, why can't it be Wonderland?" Alice's tone, clearly American accented, made it all seem perfectly reasonable.

"He's not my boyfriend," Abby responded, and now it was Connor who wanted to smack his head against the table a few times. Of course that's the one element she'd respond to. She also dropped his arm like a hot potato. Connor's eyes caught those of Hatter, and the other man quirked up a brow as if to ask, _why not boyfriend?_

"Abs, the point is that we're actually in this place, and if they say it's called Wonderland, then it is Wonderland, yeah?" Connor tried to explain.

"Alright, that's just eerie," said Grace suddenly. "They actually TALK alike!"

"Disconcerting, indeed," agreed Sir Charles.

"Connor, what are we going to do? When we get back – if we get back – tell everyone we've been to Wonderland?" Abby hissed.

"No, I don't think so. I mean, look – Lester will buy pre-historic, and he'll buy futuristic, but _fictional?_ Not a chance."

"So what do we do?"

Connor held up a hand. "Hang on –" He turned to Alice. "You're a Yank, right? From New York City?"

"That's right," she agreed.

"So what year is it at home for you?"

"What does the year have to do with it?" Asked Jack, but Alice answered Connor readily anyway.

Both Abby and Connor blinked, then Connor started smiling. "This Looking Glass," Connor said, "It's a _dimensional_ portal, not a temporal one!" He turned to Jack. "You said you were switching it, right, from London to New York? So can you just switch it back and send us home?"

Jack nodded. "Of course. There was no question that we couldn't send you back to the Other Side. We merely wanted to ascertain _how_ you came to be here. And of course, your identity, understandably."

Both Connor and Abby sagged in their chairs in relief. They weren't trapped in some other time, up the creek without an anomaly. But Hatter looked at them suspiciously. "Hang on," he asked. "What is it you do, that you worry about different dimensions versus different times, and whether or not you can get back to a certain year?"

"Oh, we – OW! Abby!" Connor began to explain, but Abby's sharp jab to his ribs cut him off. "We have to tell them, it's the only possible explanation for how we got here!"

"Official secrets, Connor!"

"Who are they going to tell? They don't even live in our dimension. OK, except for them," he conceded with a wave at Alice and Hatter.

"There are other portals," Alice announced, making the intuitive leap from the hints in front of her. "But they're… TIME portals. And you two … adventure through them? Research them? For some British secret agency," she finished with a crooked smile. Abby scowled, but Connor grinned back at Alice, admiring her quickness. "Some how, the Looking Glass brushed by one of these portals while you two were passing through, and it dragged you here."

"That's right," Connor exclaimed, despite Abby's disapproval. "It was an anomaly in Lancashire leading to the Eocene era. We were on our way back home when we got pulled here."

"That is a problem," Jack interjected suddenly. "The stable Looking Glass portal is located in London."

Abby joined in, though her tone was clearly unhappy about the amount of information being shared by her co-worker. "That_ is_ a problem. We've had anomalies close on people before, but they've always re-opened in the same area on our side. How do we explain disappearing from Lancashire and reappearing in London?"

"We could simply dose you both with Forgetfulness. Then you simply wouldn't remember and have no explanation to offer." Jack suggested, but Alice made a dismayed noise.

"Oh, please don't!" Everyone looked at her, and she glanced down at her hands for a moment. "I mean…. I'd like it if you didn't." She gave a crooked smile to Connor and Abby, then a warmer but more wistful one to Hatter. "I'd really like to have someone else back home, besides us, who knows. I – I just…" But before she could explain, Hatter wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile and sigh.

Jack's eyes narrowed, but he conceded the point. "Very well. No Forgetfulness."

Connor glanced around, and could see that the others had their suspicions as to Alice's motivations, but no-one wanted to talk about it. There was a history here, some story as to how Hatter and Alice came to be together, how all these people knew each other, even though Alice was a New Yorker from Earth. For once though, he kept his mouth shut on his questions.

"You'll simply have to assert that you have no idea how you came to be in London," Jack said to Abby and Connor. "We'll have to trust to your discretion." He didn't sound like he was happy about that.

"Jack, if they're on some secret task force, then they are perfectly discreet," Alice pointed out.

"Very well. Ten," the King addressed the silent observer to their discussion. The tall swarthy man had been standing by the door silently the entire time. "Tell the White Rabbit team to complete the New York assignment. Then we'll recalibrate the Glass back to London, and send our unexpected guests home."

"Yes Sire. The New York mission should only take two days."

"Two days!" exclaimed Abby. "But… you said we'd already been here a day. If we're gone for three days, we can't possible just say we don't know what happened!"

"The Looking Glass can send you back to almost exactly the time you left," Grace explained soothingly. She really seemed like a kind person. "Time passes differently on this side of the Glass. Faster."

"I was here for several days, my first time, and only an hour passed back home," Alice told them. Another series of expressions went around the group, and Connor wondered about that story as well.

"Alright then," Abby sighed with resignation. "I guess that'll do." Connor winced again. Sometimes, Abby could be utterly impossible.

The short fellow dressed like Ten opened the door. "Sire, the Librarian is here for your meeting."

Jack sighed heavily. "Why did I become King again?" he muttered. To the short man, he said, "Thank you, Nine, I'll be there presently." Standing and addressing the rest of them, he went on, "Well, then, we have a plan, and an explanation. Mr. Temple, you and Miss…"

"Maitland," Abby supplied.

"You and Miss Maitland will be our guests for the duration. Alice, Hatter, as always your chambers are at your disposal."

"Shall we have a feast?" Grace asked.

Jack hesitated, then said to her, "If you wish to arrange one… don't go to too much trouble." His voice was noticeably gentler to her than to anyone else, even Alice. Grace smiled back at him brightly.

"I'm sure it won't be too much trouble."

"Very well, then. I leave you all in Grace's capable hands." With that, King Jack left the room, Nine and Ten following. The rest stood.

Alice grinned at Grace. "When's the date?"

Grace smiled shyly. "In the spring."

"About time!" Hatter observed, tossing his hat into the air with a spin. There was no way it would have come down anywhere near him, but miraculously, it landed perfectly on his head. Connor frowned – that little trick just defied the laws of physics.

"You're marrying the king?" Abby asked Grace.

"Yes. At last." Then she covered her mouth with a hand and a sideways glance at Alice, who only laughed.

"It IS about time. It's been what, nearly three years now for you? For goodness's sake, Grace, we've put that behind us all." She gave the statuesque blond woman a warm hug. "I'm happy for you."

Grace's eyes shone with tears. "I'm so thankful, you know. That we were able to be friends after… " Alice just hugged her again.

"OK, I'm dying here," Connor announced. "What's the story with you all?"

* * *

_to be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

FIVE

_(The Throne Room and around Heart Castle)_

Telling the tale of Alice's first adventure in Wonderland, how she'd known Jack on Earth, the elusive Stone, Hatter's assistance, Sir Charles's loyal service, Duchess Grace's involvement, and the overthrow of the Queen of Hearts, took an additional hour, and Duchess Grace had tea fetched in for all before the end of it.

Connor was delighted with the whole thing, a fairytale come to life. Abby wished he could be a little less naïve, a bit more cynical.

Throughout the telling, Grace had given soft orders to a number of servants who were in and out of the room, ensuring that all was provided for their guests, rooms, clothing, personal items. The feast had been ordered as well, and was set for nightfall, which was rather late by Connor and Abby's standards.

"Excuse me, Abby," Grace asked quietly at one point, while Hatter and Sir Charles were having a rousing argument over who was most useful to Alice while trapped in the casino, with Alice's laughing objections. "Will you wish to share a chamber with Connor?"

"N-no!" Abby stuttered. "We're not… it's not like that."

"I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood his… no matter, there's plenty of room. It _is_ a castle, after all." Grace smoothly moved on to rejoin the storytelling, describing how Jack had made his escape from the Casino to contact the Resistance for orders.

Finally, both Grace and Sir Charles were called away. Sir Charles apparently was busy restoring his knightly order, and often was needed to impart information to the younger knights-in-training. Duchess Grace was in charge of the entire castle management.

Their departure left Connor and Abby alone with Alice and Hatter. Abby still couldn't seem to look at Hatter straight on. Finally, the man sat himself right in front of her.

"Alright, what's your problem then?" he asked boldly.

"Hey!" Connor objected to Hatter's aggression.

Abby shook her head. "It's too weird."

"You think?" Alice studied both men for a moment. "Actually, I think they're pretty different."

"Really?" Abby made a disbelieving face.

"You two, come here," Alice ordered, making Hatter and Connor stand next to each other. A servant chose that exact moment to enter the room, took one look at the two men, yelped, and beat a hasty retreat. Hatter broke out laughing, while Connor just looked bewildered. "There, you see? Completely different."

"Oh, come on Alice! I think we should all go back to New York together," Hatter said, slinging an arm around Connor's shoulders. "Imagine it!"

"I am imagining it, Hatter, and there's no way I'm letting you play that sort of prank on my mother. Not to mention you should be ashamed of thinking of ace-ing Connor into something like that. Now be nice!"

Abby rose to stand next to Alice facing the men. "I see it now," she said wonderingly. It wasn't just the hair – Connor's was a bit longer – or the clothing – Hatter's was bolder, brighter. While physically identical right down to the dimple, it was what was behind the eyes that seemed completely different. Connor's smile was bright with intelligence and enthusiasm, and an almost childlike enjoyment of the world around him. Hatter's smile was sharply clever with a hint of slyness, and a much darker history lurked behind it. They also had different body language. Hatter's posture spoke of confidence and barely-restrained motion, with a hint of arrogance. Connor's frame was tense, a bit off balance, like he still wasn't sure of the length of his arms or the size of his feet.

"Hatter's older," Alice announced.

"Am I? How old are you?" he asked Connor.

"Twenty-six. How old are you?"

"I'm nearly thirty. So much for separated at birth, yeah?"

"But how is it even possible for totally unrelated people to be so nearly identical? From two different dimensions? Four years apart in age?" Abby wondered.

"Doppelganger effect," Alice said.

"You think?" asked Connor.

"What's that?" Hatter, bored with the examination, flopped back into a chair and poured himself more tea.

"Besides the literary device of the evil trans-dimensional twin, or the clone, or what have you, there's a completely unsubstantiated theory that every individual species only has so much physical diversity given the limitations of its specific biological parameters," Conner explained.

"Meaning, there's only so many ways a human being can be put together, and so eventually, everyone must have an unrelated identical twin out there somewhere." Alice finished, with a bright grin for Connor. It gave Abby a jolt of jealousy, and made Hatter clear his throat loudly to get his wife's attention back.

"Lovely theory and all that, but what does it mean?" Hatter asked.

"It doesn't mean anything," Alice said, removing his teacup from his hand and sitting easily in his lap. She kissed his nose and said, "You're you. He's him. Just because you look the same, it's just coincidence." Hatter made a grumbling noise, but he was clearly happy to have his wife in his arms, hugging her close.

Abby swallowed hard, watching them. Even knowing they were different people, it still did something strange to her gut to see it, like watching Connor with Caroline, or any other theoretical woman. And yet she firmly told herself it didn't matter. One, because that wasn't Connor, and two, because she didn't care anyway.

Suddenly Hatter's glance came up from his wife's face fast and sharp, piercing Abby and almost making her gasp. Then it sliced across to Connor, who was studying his empty teacup like he was going to read his future in its leavings, and back to Abby. One dark brow quirked upwards, and Alice turned to look questioningly over her shoulder at Abby.

"You look tired, Abby. Do you want me to find out where your room is? It's probably close to ours – there's one whole floor that's sort of a guest wing." Alice offered kindly.

"Yeah, actually, that would be lovely. I, um, I could use a nap." Abby answered, grateful for the break.

Connor frowned at her. "Are you alright? They told me they had you in quarantine – you weren't hurt, were you?" His voice held an edge, a shadow of the type of concern that once sent him charging through an anomaly to rescue her from monster futuristic walruses.

"I'm fine, Connor. I could just use a break, you know? Some down-time."

Alice led them into the halls, navigating with ease. She and Hatter rarely lost physical contact with each other, whether it was Hatter's hand on the small of her back, or their hands entwined, or their arms around each other's waist. They were so perfectly in tune to one another, it was like watching a professional dance pair move. Beside her, Abby could feel and see Connor, and yet she couldn't consciously imagine just reaching out and taking his hand so casually. He'd become her best mate, and yet the words he'd uttered to her over a cliff in a different time haunted her sometimes, and made her feel uncertain, unstable.

Most of all, she didn't like the way that Hatter looked at her sharply again, this time over his shoulder.

A servant pointed out the rooms assigned to Abby and Connor. "I'll wake you in time to get ready for the feast, alright?" Alice said kindly, and Abby nodded. With one last glance at Connor – and avoiding Hatter's gaze – she shut the door.

* * *

SIX

_(the guest quarters in Heart Castle)_

When the door shut, Hatter let out a low whistle. "She's wound up tighter than a new pocketwatch," he observed.

"Hatter," Alice hissed warningly, but Connor took the opportunity.

"What exactly is your interest in her?"

"Not interested, just –"

"Not in the hall," Alice ordered, and led both men to another room, a suite that consisted of a sitting room and a bedroom. From the way Hatter flopped comfortably across a couch, Connor guessed these were their regular chambers.

Alice sat in a chair next to the couch, and though she arranged her hands primly in her lap, Hatter stretched out one long arm to rest a hand on her knee. "You'll remember, Connor, we explained that the Queen was harvesting emotions from people kidnapped from Earth."

"Right, so?"

"We're not as … inclined to experiencing strong emotions, naturally, so we're a bit more observant," Hatter explained. "Almost like the stuff just oozes right off you, like a mist, and if you're close enough, we can pick it right up. Plus, you know, when an emotion hits you like a punch to the gut…words cut off, a quickness of breath, that sort of thing."

"It's particularly strong, and therefore noticeable to someone particularly observant," Connor finished, getting the point.

"I think there might be something else to it as well. The people of Wonderland learn to read other clues better. Tone, facial expressions, so forth." Alice gave her husband a small smile. "There's certainly a greater level of… _intensity_ to a Wonderlander's undivided attention." Hatter's face split wide open with his grin as Alice blushed. Connor found himself blushing too. That was maybe more information than he really needed about their relationship. "It's a natural tendency that can be honed." Alice went on. "For a long time, the Duchess was the Queen's spy against her own son. But at the same time, Grace loved Jack. It was probably hard for her to play that dangerous balancing game, when the Queen was likely to order her head removed for the slightest slipup. When the Casino was in operation, the poor woman had to stay dosed on Self-Confidence most of the time just to manage." Alice said. "She was practically a different person once the oysters were sent home, and she could recover from the tea usage."

"And the withdrawal," Hatter muttered. His expression was bleak, and Connor guessed that the withdrawal from emotion drugs was not pretty to see or experience.

"On the other hand, Jack is as utterly plainspoken and … um… not-unusually-perceptive as anybody from earth," Alice continued.

"Dumb as a doornail, that Jack," Hatter quipped gleefully, earning a poke from Alice's finger.

"Straightforward." Alice corrected him. "Jack takes you at your word."

"So, what does that have to do with Abby being tense?" Connor asked.

Alice and Hatter exchanged an entire conversation in a single shared look. "Why don't I show you to your room?" Hatter suggested, standing up and severing the conversation. He hustled Connor out of the suite, and down the hall again. Glancing around to make sure no-one could overhear, he said lowly to Connor, "You love her, don't you?"

"Abby? Yes." It was a simple statement of fact.

"So tell her. What are you waiting for?"

"I have told her," Connor said with a sigh. "She just didn't… she didn't care to hear it." The bitter truth of that statement put a hole in his gut, and he saw Hatter wince with sympathy.

Hatter shook his head. "Chocolate and cream cake," he said pityingly, though Connor had no idea what he meant. "Well, maybe your luck will change, little brother." He patted Connor on the back, and left him standing in front of an open door to a bedchamber with a wave of a hand.

Connor sighed, watching his doppelganger saunter back to his own room and his gorgeous brilliant wife. _Jealous much?_ Connor chided himself.

* * *

SEVEN

_(the bedroom suite reserved for Lady Alice)_

"You didn't–" Alice started when her husband returned.

Hatter sighed and tossed his hat casually across the room with a flick of his wrist. There was absolutely no way that it should have landed on the hat-rack, but it did, perfectly. "No. I daresay he's got his own heart sorted. He loves her, and has told her so."

"And?"

"And she blew him off."

"Oh dear," Alice sighed, sitting on the couch. Hatter sat next to her, pulling her close and half across his lap, nuzzling beneath her ear.

"Not enough chocolate and cream cake, I'm afraid, in either world, to sort out that one," Hatter told her.

* * *

_to be continued_


	4. Chapter 4

EIGHT

_(the bedchamber assigned to Miss Abby Maitland)_

Abby did in fact lie down and try to nap. She was relieved to be away from Hatter. He made her skin crawl.

_Why?_ she wondered. What was it about the man? It wasn't just that he was identical to Connor, she can handle identical twins for goodness's sake – even though they really weren't twins. Certainly not his fashion sense – if anything, the man was more outrageous than Connor, and it seemed to be deliberate, unlike Connor's sometimes absently put together looks.

It wasn't his wife. Alice was a lovely person, really. Smart and confident and capable, it seemed.

_Confidence._ That's what it was. Hatter moved, spoke, acted, with utter self-confidence, a quality that Connor completely lacked. Connor stumbled through life on sheer luck and the tolerance of those around him. And seeing a confident strong version of Connor was… disconcerting.

And just a little bit tantalizing, which was an admission she would only ever make in her head. What would Connor be like with a touch of that self-confidence? Connor always stood in someone else's shadow; Cutter's, Stephen's, even hers. What would he be like if he could walk about utterly at ease with himself? His lack of confidence was a like a red flag waving, _geek here, do not expect any sort of competence with social interactions!_

And yet….

And yet Connor had charged through an anomaly into the unknown, to chase after her. He'd battled monsters for her. He'd held on after she told him to let go, refusing because….

And yet the mental image of a Connor that could grin, and tease, and have the sort of confident poise that Hatter had, was terribly……

Abby huffed, rolling over and jabbing the pillow to adjust it. She needed sleep.

* * *

NINE

_(the bedchamber assigned to Connor Temple)_

Connor figured, his room, his bath, and so he indulged in a shower. After all, he shared a flat with a girl, he didn't get to take long hot showers often.

He stood in the middle of the room wondering if he should check the closet, or if his own clothes would be alright for a Wonderland Feast – _what would the menu look like? _– when there was a knock at the door.

"Hang on!" he called, quickly yanking on trousers and his vest.

When he opened the door, his jaw dropped. The Hatter was there, juggling hats. It appeared to be at least seven hats. When Connor took a startled step back, Hatter walked right through the doorway, smoothly, neither halting the juggling, nor losing a hat.

"Right, if you're gonna get pegged as a Hatter, you've got to have a hat, yeah? Pick one!" Hatter announced cheerfully. He himself wore some sort of flat-topped thing, not quite a top hat, black with a green band. Of course, his trousers were black, his coat a dark purple, and his silk shirt some wild pattern of green and gold. It shouldn't have worked. He looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie.

"What? Do I need to wear a hat for the feast?" Connor asked, entranced by Hatter's juggling skills.

"No, of course not, but I reckon you'll get called 'Hatter' at least half the night, you might as well have a hat."

"But… if I don't wear a hat, won't that make it easier for people to tell us apart?"

"Ah, but why would we want to make it easy on them?" Hatter's grin was everything cocky and mischievous.

"Er.. does Alice know about this?"

"Here, now!" Hatter said, dismay in his voice. He deftly tossed each hat, lining them up neatly on the bed. "Don't go raining on my picnic."

"Parade, you mean."

"No, I mean picnic! Besides, what my delightful, sweet, understanding wife doesn't know…"

"Will get us both smacked, probably," Connor finished.

Hatter pouted. "You are no fun."

Connor sighed, looking from his double, who clearly was determined to work out some sort of prank, to the hats on the bed. _Oh, what the hell, _he decided. "How about the gray fedora?"

Hatter grinned, then bounced over to the closet. Flinging it open, he laughed. "Just as I expected! Everything the suits have tried to foist on me, that I've refused to wear is in here!" He started pulling out suits in black, white, red, navy, pinstripe. There were solid colored shirts hanging in there as well. All things that even Connor would have instantly recognized as too boring for the flamboyant Hatter.

"Not red!" Connor objected instantly to one suit, and Hatter's crooked grin made Connor realized he'd fallen in with the mad man's plans, hook, line, and sinker.

"That's fine, Jack will be wearing red. The Red King, he is, and King of Hearts too. Let's see…."

"Just a black suit, and a white shirt," Connor requested.

"Boooring!" Hatter sang out, but Connor stood firm.

"Look, I'll wear my own waistcoat, and scarf with it. And the fedora."

Hatter sighed but conceded defeat. "Alright, then. If you must." He threw himself into an armchair and waved a hand at Connor.

Connor frowned.

"Well, go on. Get dressed." Hatter ordered.

Connor hesitated. He'd just thrown on clothing when Hatter knocked, so he didn't have on boxers and was not about to drop trous in front of what was essentially a stranger. "As soon as you leave."

"Leave?" Hatter sat up. "If I leave, you might change your mind about the hat! And we look _excellent_ in hats, you know that. And it's not like you've got anything I wouldn't have."

"Alright, really. You absolutely cannot start in with the whole two-halves-of-the-same-person thing, yeah? Alice will kill you, Abby will never speak to me again."

Hatter cocked his head to peer at Connor, suddenly serious. "You think?"

"Yes, I do think Alice will kill you. Isn't she always telling you to be nice?'

"No, I mean, you really think Abby won't speak to you again?"

Connor rolled his eyes. "It's a distinct possibility." At Hatter's silent request for more information, Connor sighed heavily and sat on the bed. "She runs all… hot and cold. Sometimes I'll think things are going well between us, and it gets my hopes up, and then she'll snap at me and chew me out for the slightest offense. I mean…" Connor waved his hands about in exasperation. "Who doesn't like warm socks, yeah? And if the oven is going to be on _anyway,_ why not use the warming drawer?"

Hatter grinned. "I think we're more alike than even Alice suspects."

Connor smiled back. "So then, how did you manage to win Alice's heart?"

With a shrug, Hatter answered, "I just kept chasing after her, whether she wanted rescuing or not. I suppose she finally just let me catch her."

* * *

_to be continued_


	5. Chapter 5

TEN

_(the bedchamber assigned to Miss Abby Maitland)_

Abby decided a shower was definitely in order. Oh lord, what she wouldn't give for a bathroom like this! It had an enormous tub, and a glassed-in separate shower stall with six jets, and four faucets, which she eventually discovered controlled not only hot and cold water, but soapy or scented as well. Huge white fluffy towels hung on a heated rack, and a white robe was provided. Abby thoroughly enjoyed her shower, and snuggled deep into the warmed robe.

"Abby?" a voice called from the main room. Abby stuck her head out the bathroom door to see Duchess Grace waiting for her. The Duchess smiled broadly. "I see you're enjoying the accommodations."

"Oh, yes, thank you! It's like a luxury hotel!" Abby told her enthusiastically.

Grace laughed. "Yes, when we refurbished this castle, Jack insisted on the very best, adapted for Wonderland, of course. Here, I've had a few necessary items fetched for you. If you like, you can use these, and I'll have your own clothing laundered for your return home." Grace waved a hand languidly at the bed, where Abby could now see a few discreet bags.

She looked, and found a selection of under garments, as well as perfume and what appeared to be make-up and styling products.

"There's also some clothing in the closet for you," Grace went on smoothly. "For tonight, a simple tea-dress will suffice, although I may see if Jack will let me throw a ball tomorrow, since your scheduled departure isn't until evening the day after, I'm afraid. The White Rabbit got a late start on the New York mission. We had delayed it over the confusion, you understand."

"Thank you, really, Grace. You've all been so nice." Abby could hardly credit the generosity of this woman and King Jack. "You really shouldn't have gone to the trouble.."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all. I love company, I love entertaining. It's so rare to make new friends, don't you agree?" Grace smiled and went to the wardrobe to examine the contents. "Red, I think, for you. You'll look smashing in red, with that fair skin."

Abby shook her head in amazement. Apparently, one had to just go along for the ride in Wonderland.

Grace pulled out a dress that looked very retro to Abby's eyes. It had a broad collar, and buttoned up the front, with a full skirt, three-quarter sleeves, and a matching sash-belt at the waist, all in a deep, burgundy color. Almost 1950s in its style. "Yes, this will do. Be thankful you weren't here last winter. The fashion was full-length gowns and bell sleeves. Although, the gentlemen did all look very interesting in their tights."

Abby couldn't restrain a sputter of hilarity at the thought of prim King Jack in tights. The sputter turned into a genuine laugh as the Duchess shot her a wicked smirk over her shoulder. "Fortunately," Grace went on, "this season, wiser heads have prevailed."

"Why?" Abby quietly asked the Duchess, confused the kindness of these people, though she admitted to herself that she was enjoying it all.

The Duchess's one-shoulder shrug managed to be elegant. "Because you and your young man are interesting. Because you shine. Because the opportunity to make new friends is not to be passed by lightly."

Blushing, Abby protested, "He's not my young man."

"Connor's first word when he regained consciousness was your name," Grace told her softly. "I think he would very much like to be your young man."

Abby couldn't find an answer for that. She knew very well it was the truth.

* * *

ELEVEN

_(the bedchamber assigned to Connor Temple)_

"So why doesn't Alice want to let us get dosed with that Forgetfulness stuff?" Connor asked. He'd reached a compromise with Hatter, retreating to the bathroom to change initially. Now he was pulling on his waistcoat. The silence that greeted his question made him pause to turn and look at Hatter.

For once, the older man was still and quiet. With a deep breath, he began "She has nightmares."

"Sorry?"

"Alice has nightmares. Her father had been dosed with Forgetfulness and Denial, and so he didn't remember anything. It hurt her…. a lot. Sometimes she has nightmares – that I'll have forgotten her, or her mother, or the whole world will have forgotten that Alice Hamilton ever existed." Hatter flipped his top hat over, slowly, end over end over end, as he spoke. "I think… She'll probably want to stay in contact with you and Abby. Because you'll be two more people, _not_ originally from Wonderland, who know about it. It's hard, sometimes, hard for both of us.."

Connor nodded, perceptive for once. "She wants us to remember, so we can remind her that it was real, that it _is_ real."

"Right. You'd think waking up next to me everyday would be reminder enough, yeah?" Hatter's smirk was half-hearted at best.

Connor Temple generally dealt with other people directly from his heart. He never quite learned the ins and outs of modern interpersonal communications, the subtleties and undercurrents, what one could say out loud or not. And so the average person thought he was a nutcase sometimes, because Connor said things or expressed things without filters or care for what way his odd point of view might be received. He often had to backtrack, reverse gears, try to explain away his comments. He'd go on at length, babbling away until the initial misstep was forgotten. Or pretend he didn't remember telling someone he loved her, so that she wouldn't slug him or kick him out of the flat, rejecting him outright. Denial often worked better than ownership, when sheer rejection was at stake.

So when his doppelganger, someone who in a remarkably short time had become probably one of his best mates, sounded like he was drowning in misery, worried about his wife, Connor went with his first impulse.

Which was, strangely enough, to give Hatter a hug.

And just as strangely, it worked, for both of them.

* * *

_to be continued_


	6. Chapter 6

TWELVE

_(the bedchamber assigned to Miss Abby Maitland)_

Grace had to leave Abby to get ready herself, so it was Alice who tapped on the door to call her to the feast.

Alice wore a very similar dress to Abby's, but in a deep sapphire blue instead of red.

"Hatter will be bringing Connor along," Alice explained.

"Oh dear. Connor can never get anywhere on time," Abby said with a laugh.

"It doesn't matter. Feasts are… somewhat informal in Wonderland," Alice told her with a smile.

Feasts in Wonderland looked an awful lot like wedding receptions, Abby decided. There were a number of round tables, and people were alternately sitting and chatting, or wandering from table to table to talk to others. Apparently, once an entire table got itself sorted and seated, servants rushed in with their plates to serve just that table. Any table taking longer to get together was ignored.

A number of crystal pitchers stood on each table, and guests apparently served themselves. Alice picked up one containing a pale gold liquid. Abby expected wine, and was surprised to discover some sort of fruit juice. When she said as much to Alice, the other woman said, "I don't think they've got a real alcohol industry yet. You'd have to ask Jack." Alice was about to say more, it seemed, when she suddenly stopped, freezing with a glass halfway to her lips, staring back towards the door to the hall behind Abby.

"What?" Abby asked.

"Oh. My. God," Alice whispered, a strange mix of amusement and awe, and just a touch of lust in her voice. Abby blinked, then turned to look over her shoulder.

At the door to the hall stood Hatter and Connor together, both speaking with the Ten of Clubs. To Abby's eyes, Connor looked…remarkably normal in a hat and his waistcoat and scarf, even with the suit. Hatter was as colorful as ever.

Abby turned back to see Alice with eyes closed, shaking her head and muttering "Bad Alice! Bad! Bad thoughts, naughty naughty Alice!"

"What thoughts?" Abby asked, amused.

Alice gave her a thoroughly wicked grin. "Bad 'Sandwich' thoughts."

Abby gasped as her jaw dropped and eyes widened. She covered her mouth with one hand to stifle the sudden surge of giggles that erupted. Damn Alice for giving her naughty thoughts about Connor! Abby had always avoided thinking of Connor in a sexual manner, but Alice just stuck that mental image right in the forefront of her brain. Connor was her best mate, so to Abby's mind, that meant he was off-limits sexually. She'd never seen a friendship turn into a relationship successfully, ever. All the ones she'd ever witnessed imploded messily. And she had to work day after day with Connor, besides sharing the flat. What if they didn't work out as a couple? It would make life at the ARC miserable.

But thanks to Alice, Abby now remembered every time she'd caught him fresh from the shower, and the tight fitting shirts he sometimes wore, the way his ubiquitous waistcoat emphasized his trim body, or the way his ass looked in a pair of fitted jeans. For the first time, Abby found herself considering Connor as a _man_, not as 'the geek' or her flat-mate, or her co-worker.

Alice's eyes sparkled with mirth and lewd possibilities. "I'm a married woman, right? Right??"

Abby swallowed painfully. She glanced briefly back at the two men as they approached the table, taking in the way Connor looked in a suit. There was something… almost… _sexy _about the way his long hair curled over his collar, and the thought shook Abby right down to her toes. _Don't think like that!_ she screamed at herself, fixing her attention on her plate. _It could all go so wrong._

Just then, Hatter and Connor reached their table. Hatter easily sauntered over to his wife, leaning over to lay a very steamy kiss on her, lingering over Alice's lips. Abby reluctantly looked up to see Connor flushed with embarrassment over witnessing that display. He gave Abby a half-hearted smile and made an odd gesture with his hands which seemed to ask her permission to sit next to her. It was so typically Connor, Abby was reassured by the normalcy.

She glanced up at the fedora on his head. "So now you're a hatter too?" Abby asked, fighting to control her voice.

Connor turned more red and fiddled with his place setting. "It was his idea. He wanted to mess with people."

"Why am I not surprised?" Abby masked herself with dry sarcasm.

Very soon, Sir Charles and the Ten of Clubs joined them at the table. Abby and Alice sat side by side, as Connor and Hatter flanked them respectively. Sir Charles took the seat beside Hatter, and the Ten of Clubs chose the chair beyond him.

King Jack and Duchess Grace entered the room to applause. Abby was surprised that no-one rose to bow or anything as the royal couple crossed the hall. King Jack wore a bright red suit with a white shirt and black skinny tie, very mod in Abby's opinion. Grace wore a fitted dress of gold lame', high necked but sleeveless, slit from hem to thigh. They made their way to the others' table, looking elegant and relaxed.

Jack held the chair next to Connor for the Duchess, and took the remaining seat between Grace and Ten of Clubs for himself. Servants rushed to serve the table.

Abby was a bit relieved to see the normal silverware and plate-ware of her own world. Soon everyone was eating and chatting comfortably… except herself.

Alice and Hatter and Sir Charles quickly struck up a conversation, and Connor was drawn into discussion with the Ten of Clubs, whom Abby learned was actually named Phillip, and King Jack, with Grace's involvement.

Abby tried to keep up, but after two courses, and several conversational shifts, she was completely lost, mainly because she felt left out.

"– skip land lines altogether and install cellular towers!" Connor was telling King Jack. "You can carry both phone and internet signals that way."

"We're still trying to nail down a reliable power source that will not pollute," Phillip Clubs riposted. "Our rivers aren't robust enough – we're thinking wind."

"There are wind farms all over Scotland," Connor pointed out, at which point Abby lost track of what they were saying, because a loud exclamation from Sir Charles distracted her.

"–at all! It's a noble pursuit! I daresay, tomorrow you two and our two guests shall accompany me! A grand chase through the countryside, such a fine and noble way to spend the day!"

"We don't even know if they ride, Charlie," Alice replied, laughing. "You'd have to find reliable mounts that can keep up."

Abby glanced back down at her plate, feeling more and more like a little girl playing dress-up. The dessert course came out at last, and people started standing to talk to friends at other tables.

Suddenly, Connor touched her arm lightly. "Alright?" he asked.

Abby pasted a grin to her face. "Sure! Yeah, I'm fine."

He looked at her closely. "You weren't talking much."

"Oh, I'm still a bit tired, you know," Abby tried putting him off.

Connor bought her excuses. "You know, King Jack is alright. He's trying to develop industry here and things, using green power and technology and stuff."

"Yeah, I heard you talking. Right up your alley."

Connor grinned. "Yeah." He leaned a little closer. "I really like it here, Abby. They're good people."

Abby stared at him a second, not sure how she felt. When she hesitated too long, a little line appeared between Connor's brows. "What?" he asked.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem… too friendly to you?" she said softly.

He sat back, frowning at her. "No. No, it doesn't seem like that at all." He considered her for a second, then said, "They're good people. They had it rough in the past, and now they're trying to do right by their world. What's your problem with that?"

Abby shook her head. "I don't know. I guess…. I just…."

Connor made a little exasperated noise. "Good god, Abby. You could see the dark side of a fluffy baby lamb, couldn't you?" He turned away from her then, to give Grace a bright grin, and his disregard was like a punch to Abby's gut.

She glared morosely at her glass of fruit juice. Peeking up through her lashes, she saw Hatter and Alice, seats shifted together so that their bodies touched from knee to shoulder, laughing with Sir Charles. At that moment, Alice shot Connor a considering look that sent a rush of hot jealousy through Abby's chest. _Sandwich, huh?_ Abby thought viciously. Glancing the other way, she saw Connor laughing with Grace as King Jack smiled at them both. Something black and miserable coiled through her.

"Abby?" She looked up to see Hatter's dark eyes fixed upon her. "Alright there?"

Trying to shake it off, Abby forced a smile to her lips. "Yeah, fine. Tired, though."

"Feel free to call it a night," Alice said kindly. "We should all get a decent night's sleep if we're going on a Jabberwock hunt with Charlie tomorrow."

Abby blinked with confusion. "Jabberwock hunt?"

Alice leaned close and whispered "Don't worry, he never actually catches a thing."

Confused but complacent, Abby agreed to whatever plan had been arranged. Rising, she bid everyone good night, but to her surprise, Connor instantly stood as well.

"I'll walk you back," he offered, and gave his goodnights to the table also.

The two ARC employees walked back to the guest wing in silence. At her room's door, Abby turned to say goodnight to Connor, but hesitated at the perplexed expression on his face.

"What is your problem, Abby?" Connor asked suddenly.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Why can't you just enjoy this?"

Abby scowled. "This isn't some sort of holiday, Connor! We got pulled through an anomaly and landed here, without meaning to! They haven't tried to send us home yet, just assured us they could. And they're being all lovey-dovey without reason? Why would they just welcome us like this? It doesn't make sense! People don't just decide to be your friend like that."

Connor stared at her. "Yes, they do. People can just decide to be friendly, it's called common courtesy. There's nothing _wrong_ with Hatter, or Grace, or Jack, or even Alice. Alice is from New York, for god's sake! You'd think she'd be suspicious and unfriendly, of anyone, but she's fantastic."

"I knew it. I knew you fancied her," Abby accused, unable to let go of the bleak feeling that had filled her during dinner.

Connor took a step back. "Yeah, so what? She's smart and gorgeous. She's also _married,_ if you hadn't noticed. Give me some credit for brains, Abby, I know she's off limits."

She couldn't even acknowledge the jealousy in herself. "Yeah, well, that didn't stop her from speculating about you," she spat.

Connor's brows went up. "Really?" He sounded surprised and intrigued, which just pissed Abby off more.

Frustrated and fed up, Abby made a noise of extreme annoyance, and emphatically slammed her guest room door behind her.

* * *

THIRTEEN

_(the Great Hall of the Castle, and the Guest Wing)_

When he leaned over to kiss his wife upon joining her in the feast hall, Hatter felt more than usual enthusiasm from Alice.

"Mmm, what are you thinking, my love?" he murmured against her lips.

Alice's smile was full of suggestions. "Naughty thoughts, darling," she whispered.

Hatter gave her a surprised look, keeping his lips close, almost brushing against hers. "Do those thoughts involve our new friends?"

"Just one of them," Alice breathed back, letting her bottom lip touch his lightly.

Hatter surged closer to capture her mouth, letting his tongue sweep in to taste her. After a moment of wrangling with her, he drew away slowly. "Now who's considering bad things involving my little brother?" he breathed. "Be nice, Alice." His wife grinned as he took his seat beside her.

Alice's naughty turn of thought didn't bother Hatter one bit. Thinking about something and acting on those thoughts were two entirely different things. If Alice was thinking naughty erotic thoughts, Hatter would be the one to reap the benefits, and he didn't have any problem with that at all.

As observant as ever, Hatter kept tabs on the undercurrents swirling around the table. Alice was quietly working herself into a fine state, which boded well for later in Hatter's evening. He could tell both Phillip and Jack were impressed with Connor's suggestions about incorporating other-world technology into Wonderland. Grace too, since under that pretty, decorative, façade lurked a brain as sharp as a dagger. That conversation moved lightening-fast, leaping from topic to topic. Charlie was off on his tales and fancies, Alice encouraging him as always.

However, the dead zone of the table circled around Abby. She barely engaged with anyone, focusing on her plate.

Hatter contemplated the oyster girl. She came across as tough and capable, but she had as much baggage as Alice had when Hatter first met her. In fact, Abby reminded Hatter a great deal of Alice, but without Alice's ability to connect with people. They had the same lean muscular frame, the same contained movement that told anyone with street-sense that they were not an easy target, and they apparently had the same inability to trust. Of course, Alice had learned to come out of that shell, to trust and love and be loved. Abby hadn't gotten there yet. Also, Abby's tendency to push people away was far more pronounced than Alice's had ever been. _Runs hot and cold,_ Connor had said, and Hatter well believed it. He wondered, what made her like that?

During desert, Alice shifted, one hand disappearing under the table to trace circles on his thigh. Hatter smiled to himself, pressing his leg against her. This impromptu trip to Wonderland was turning out to be a very nice little get-away.

Even though outwardly Alice was laughing at Charlie's story, Hatter could feel the delicious tension building in her. He loved evenings like this – forced to be social, and after a few hours of tension, once they got home, his Alice pounced like a cat. Only this time, there was an interesting added element, and he knew the second Alice's attention slipped across the table towards Connor.

Hatter himself glanced towards Abby, wondering if she sensed anything, and sure enough, the oyster girl gave a glare at her glass that might have caused it to shatter. "Abby? Alright there?" he asked mildly.

She brushed him off, and started to make her excuses for the evening. Hatter didn't think anyone else at the table besides Abby was surprised when Connor immediately rose to escort her. That basic courtesy was common in Jack Heart's court, but Abby looked nonplussed.

The two oysters left together, and Hatter turned to Jack and Phillip. "Bets?" he asked pleasantly.

Alice elbowed him as Grace giggled. Phillip shook his head. "I bet no."

Jack thought a moment. "I bet no as well."

"Me too. She won't let him in." Grace stated.

"In more ways than one," Alice agreed.

"What are we betting on?" Charlie asked, which made Hatter chuckle.

"Don't worry about it, Charlie," he said. "Alice my love, shall we retire for the evening?"

"Absolutely. Goodnight everyone," Alice rose as quickly as Hatter, eager to be alone.

But when they reached the guest wing, arms around each other's waists, they found Connor standing in the hall in front of Abby's room with a very frustrated expression on his face.

"Connor? Are you alright?" Alice asked.

The man's head came up quickly, as if he'd been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed their approach, which was entirely possible. He blinked once, then a slight flush stained his cheeks.

"Fine! Yeah, I'm fine. We just… had a bit of disagreement, that's all."

"Everything's okay?" Hatter frowned.

"Yeah, sure, fine." Connor seemed anything but fine.

Alice cocked her head, then glanced up at her husband. Hatter could tell something wicked was percolating through her brain. She gave him a little smirk, and a raised brow. _This is interesting,_ Hatter thought, and nodded to her unspoken suggestion. Turning back to the othersider, Alice said, "Connor? You're welcome to join us, if you like."

Connor's reaction was something to behold. His jaw dropped, and he went pale a moment, before flushing so brightly red, his ears even blushed. He struggled for words a moment, then gave Hatter a shocked questioning look.

Hatter smiled and shrugged a little. It would definitely be interesting, and he'd do just about anything Alice wanted, so he was prepared to follow through on her suggestion, if Connor agreed. Maybe weird, but it would be interesting.

Connor seemed to shudder briefly, then said, "No, um, thanks, really, but no… I think I'll – I'll just go to bed, yeah? Good night." He practically tripped over himself in the four steps it took for him to get to his own door across the hall, which he quickly but softly closed behind him.

Hatter snickered. "You scared him, love," he whispered into his wife's ear, letting his breath and lips tickle her.

"Mm," she sighed, both in agreement and in melting against him. "I may have to sic a chambermaid on him tomorrow or something."

Hatter started to steer her down the hall to their suite. "Why would you do that?"

"He has to learn there are other fish in the sea, just in case they never get together. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, after all." Despite the subject of her words, Alice's focus and hands were busily working their way under Hatter's clothing.

Hatter happily swung the door to their rooms closed behind him as Alice started fussing with the buttons of his shirt. "At this point, I want to deny everything beyond that door."

Alice gave him a small smile. "You would have gone along with my wicked ideas, though."

"Of course. Anything for you, Alice."

"Mmm," she purred, drawing him towards the bedroom. "Let's put that to the test."

* * *

_To Be Continued_

_(AN: someone asked me what Abby's problem was, that a relationship with Connor is a big No-no. I believe a) she's a pessimist, and b) she's not open to possibilities. She initially labeled Connor "foolish geek" and though they became friends, she's got a mental block where he's concerned now. For anyone who's seen Primeval ep 3.09: SHE's the one that backpedaled, after what she did. The girl has Issues, yeah?)_


	7. Chapter 7

FOURTEEN

_(the guest wing of Heart Castle)_

The next morning, a knock at the door drew Abby away from the closet. She discovered Alice smiling at her on the other side. The New Yorker was wearing an outfit practically out of a hunt club magazine.

"So.. I should wear the riding outfit then?" Abby asked with an answering smile, trying not to let on how poorly she slept.

"Right! Grace would have had one slipped in there this morning," Alice replied with a giggle.

"How does she do it?" Abby exclaimed. She gestured for Alice to come in.

"She probably left orders before bed, but if you mean the clothing itself, the concept of high fashion has taken Wonderland by storm." Alice relaxed in a chair as Abby went to pull the riding outfit out. Alice's was grey – grey jodhpurs with a dove grey blouse, and a dark charcoal proper English jacket. Her knee high boots were shiny and black. Abby's outfit was in burgundy tones – deep burgundy suede jodhpurs and matching coat, with a rose colored blouse. "There are a ton of designers now, vying for the Duchess's patronage. She's probably ordering garments for you – she's got a great eye for sizes. As for getting it into your closet… there's an access hatch."

"There is?" Abby looked back into the closet, bewildered. But sure enough, now that she looked, she realized there was a narrow door in one end of the closet, and room within the walls for someone to slip in and out again.

"Only trusted suits have access, don't worry."

"I'm not…. but I don't think Connor usually closes his closet doors."

Alice giggled. "He's not a light sleeper is he?"

Abby smiled back. "Actually, no – he sleeps like a rock. Someone will have to wake him up this morning."

Alice's grin turned elated. "Quick! Hatter planned on waking him up – this should be fun."

Abby ducked into the bathroom to change quickly. There were also dark brown boots that laced, but she made quick work of it all, being used to lacing boots in a hurry.

After a long time lying in bed the night before, Abby had decided to give Connor's point of view a try, and just try to enjoy this little detour in Wonderland. He was right – despite her initial imprisonment, which given the history the place had with people from earth was understandable, they'd been treated with complete politeness and friendliness and generosity. She'd forgotten, somehow, how decent people are supposed to treat each other.

In addition, they'd been constantly on edge for more than a year, with the anomaly project. That realization had shook her as well. A year – from being a zoo keeper to working on a secret government task force, from living alone to having a roommate, from independence and solitude to becoming part of a tight team… and then loosing one of those teammates so recently. She'd shed tears again in the night, mourning Stephen, and regretting how harshly she'd treated Connor that evening. In the days immediately following Stephen's death and funeral, Connor had been a source of comfort, someone who mourned Stephen with her. Last night, she couldn't creep across the hall to knock on his door, the way she had at home when the grief shook her. For a year, the days had been constantly tense, expecting the phone to ring any moment, the Detector to sound off, drawing them into danger. Even the days when nothing happened, she waited for that call, both dreading and anticipating the excitement.

So this morning Abby had vowed to herself while showering that she would go with the flow and try to lighten up. A short holiday, for the first time in over a year, might just be exactly what she needed.

The two women made it into the hall in time to see Hatter jiggle the handle of Connor's door. He glanced up at them, and smirked. "Locked," he said, not sounding at all disturbed. Hatter wore the same clothes he had when he and Alice arrived. He obviously refused to wear special riding clothes, though his appreciative glance at both Alice and Abby told them he approved of the fitted jodhpurs.

He winked at Abby, and produced a lock pick from a jacket pocket. With quick and clever fingers, he easily picked the lock on Connor's door and slipped into the room.

Abby and Alice crept closer. Abby heard a familiar snore. They peeked in, just in time to see Hatter lean over Connor.

He hesitated one moment, then gleefully shouted "CONNOR!" right in the sleeping man's ear. Then proved his reflexes were remarkable as he jerked back in time to avoid getting smacked by Connor's flailing arm.

"Wha? Huh?" Connor jerked, then blinked tiredly up at Hatter.

"Wakey, wakey, mate! There's jabberwocky to hunt!" Hatter grinned wickedly, then whisked the covers off the bed.

Connor yelped and sat up, giving Alice and Abby an excellent view of his body, since apparently he'd slept in only boxers and socks. The women burst out giggling helplessly.

Unfortunately, Connor heard them. He gasped, then yelled "Abby! Out, OUT," his voice cracking in embarrassment.

Hatter hustled the women out, shutting the door on them. "Well, he's awake," Abby observed.

"I'll say," Alice snickered. "Impressive morning wood." Abby couldn't stop the snort of laughter she had to muffle with her hand.

Feeling evil, Abby said, "Well? How does the comparison hold?"

Alice blinked, thrown momentarily, but her subsequent smile was all teeth. "Pretty well actually. Though I think Hatter has more 'mileage'. It would be hard to get a true comparison without…. cooperation."

The two women grinned at each other, then burst out laughing.

"You know we can HEAR YOU," a voice called plaintively from behind the door.

"That was Connor," Abby stated.

"He's not going to be able to look me in the eye now, is he?" Alice asked.

"Not since I told him you were speculating about him last night."

"You did!"

Abby blushed instead of laughing. "I didn't mean to, actually, I just…. I was….."

"Jealous?" Alice's voice was soft, with a touch of sympathy.

Abby shook her head, unable to speak, and retreated to her own room, but Alice followed, and closed the door for privacy.

"You have to see it, don't you? How well he fits here?" Alice stated. "Connor is much like Hatter. Perhaps even more like – as if Connor is what Hatter would be like, had Wonderland been a much better place to grow up. But it wasn't – it was hard and dangerous, and Hatter instead became a master at manipulating things to his advantage. But the charm is there, and the energy." Abby nodded as Alice went on. "Jack and Grace like him a great deal, and they really _could_ use someone with Connor's brilliance to help in getting their world straightened out. Wonderland isn't really Wonderland without a Mad Hatter…."

"Oh my god. What if he wants to stay?" Abby whispered.

* * *

FIFTEEN

_(the bedchamber assigned to Connor Temple)_

"I hate you, just so you know," Connor told Hatter as he dressed, choosing his own clothes that he'd worn through the anomaly. The elder version just sniggered from where he was flopped on a chair. "I'm not kidding. That was embarrassing."

"No, it was funny. Lighten up." Hatter told him, popping the last 'p'.

"Maniac," Connor muttered, going into the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair. Hatter grinned at the ceiling. He and Alice had made a pact that morning to do everything they could to _shove_ Connor and Abby together. After all, Hatter had already decided to adopt Connor, in a sense, and he had the sort of expansive good will towards the world that only a man completely satisfied with his wife and his life could have. Which meant that he wanted his Little Brother to be happy. And, of course, that plus a little fun, a little mischief, a little needling of someone who took it in stride, and a lot of playing was exactly how Hatter liked to spend his time.

Returning, Connor made a face at Hatter. "Seriously, bad enough you had to wake me like that, but now Abby's going to give me crap about needing to work out or something."

Hatter snorted. "You are the least self-confident person I have ever met."

Connor frowned. "Sod off."

"Seriously! My wife likes how you look, and she has discerning tastes."

"Duh, Hatter, I look just like you."

"And I am a fine figure of a man, if I do say so myself, so shouldn't you stop with the self-flagellations, yeah?"

Connor sighed. He knew he'd walked right into that one.

"Besides, you don't really think of yourself as ugly or un-fit," Hatter pointed out. "You're just concerned that _Abby_ thinks that. So let Alice and everyone else flirt with you, yeah? Then maybe Abby will catch a clue."

"You mean, get a clue"

"No, I mean catch a clue. Clues can be very catching, around here."

"Alright, alright," Connor conceded, not wanting to argue this early in the morning. "Do I wear the hat?"

"Can you ride a horse without falling off?"

"I've never ridden a horse."

Hatter grinned. "Leave the hat, we'll get you a helmet. C'mon."

* * *

_to be continued_


	8. Chapter 8

SIXTEEN

_(the Royal Stables, and the Tulgey Wood)_

"Good morning!" Sir Charles bellowed as the foursome joined him in the yard of the Royal Stable. "A fine day for a Jabberwock Hunt!"

"Good morning Charlie," Alice said brightly, dropping a kiss onto the old Knight's cheek, much to his blushing pleasure. She'd done her duty, as she saw it, this morning by putting the_ fear of loss_ into Abby. Maybe the girl would get her head on straighter now, and see what a catch she had in Connor. Alice had decided she would match-make Connor and Abby if it killed her at the exact moment the day before when Abby had insisted Connor was not her boyfriend. That hurt expression on a face so identical to Hatter's had squeezed Alice's heart. Since then, she'd come to realized a few things about the two Brits. One, Connor was utterly adorable, and two, Abby was nuts not to see it. And three, they were actually pretty perfect for each other, a matched team much like Alice and her husband, so putting them together was inevitable.

But then, Alice had always preferred happy endings.

Hatter fussed over his darling Guinevere, the bay mare that had belonged to Charlie, but now seemed to be Hatter's special girl. Alice herself had a nice charcoal gelding reserved for her use in the stable. But while Abby professed to _some_ riding ability, Connor admitted to being a complete neophyte.

It took a little time, but they eventually had Abby up on a reliable mare, and Hatter coached Connor through mounting up on a completely docile gelding that the stable-master swore was suitable for a beginner.

"Now, I will lead you to the chase!" Charlie announced.

Fortunately, it took a little while to reach the edge of the Tulgey Wood from the Castle, and so Abby and Connor got in some practice. Abby quickly settled, but it took longer for Connor to relax into the movement.

"Don't worry, if you fall off, he'll stop," Hatter told him.

"Fall?" Connor's voice squeaked a bit in nervousness. He and Abby both wore helmets, typical black English helmets, but it definitely looked a long way down from the horse's back to him.

"Just roll with it, if you fall, and get right back on," Alice told him kindly. He gulped and nodded, but his hand did grip the saddlehorn a bit tighter.

Finally, they reached the Wood. "Now," Charlie began, falling into lecturer mode, "At this time of year, the female Jabberwock will have a kit by her side, so you must never hunt a female. It wouldn't do to leave a helpless kit to starve without its mother."

"Helpless?" Hatter scoffed, but Alice shushed him. Abby looked interested; Connor looked worried.

"We will be seeking out a male. Do not worry about attack from a female – they are not as territorial as the male, and will not attack unless the kit is threatened." Charlie continued.

"Attack?" Connor asked nervously.

"You have nothing to fear, my boy, I will lead you safely on this hunt," Charlie assured him.

They rode into the trees, Charlie and Hatter in the lead, while Alice rode behind with Connor and Abby. The horses naturally followed the leaders, so the transition to a wooded path wasn't too hard on the newer riders.

Then they all heard a strange sort of rough snuffling. Hatter stood in his stirrups to look around. "Borogove," he commented.

Charlie made a wistful expression. "Alas, if we had the time…"

"Mmm, barbequed borogove!" Alice said, shifting a glance at the others to see their reaction. "Too bad we're out for Jabberwocky today."

Hatter steered Guinevere towards a bush. The movement flushed the pig-like creature out of the scrub. It was faster than one would expect, for a pig-thing that size. It squealed and snorted at Guinevere, who danced about as Hatter held her back from bolting, before the borogove turned tail and ran off into the woods.

"Okay, that is not at all what I thought a borogove would look like," Abby commented. "So what do jub-jub birds look like?"

"Really dangerous ostriches," Alice told her. "With teeth."

"And the bandersnatch?"

"Take a wolverine. Enlarge it, and really piss it off. With spines like a porcupine."

"Damn," Abby breathed.

Connor frowned. "Dangerous ostriches?" he asked. "Big beaks?"

"Big," Hatter agreed.

"So…terror birds," Connor said, apropos of nothing, though it clearly meant something to him, some dinosaur reference. "Really, let's avoid those, yeah?"

A little later, they heard a sound like the cross between a roar and a honk. "There," Charlie pointed through the woods.

A female Jabberwocky, kit at her side, gave them a glare and another warning honk, before hustling her baby away. Abby and Connor stared in wonder, Abby unconsciously leaning forward. The draconic creature, ridiculously ugly, lumbered awkwardly through the woods. It had a huge bulbous head with eyes like a chameleon, an improbably skinny neck, a big round body with short forelimbs, large heavy hind legs, a long whippy tail, and two flimsy looking wings.

"You can tell the females because they don't have moustaches," Hatter told the visitors.

"Seriously? Moustashes?" Connor repeated.

"Can they fly?" Abby asked Charlie.

"Of course not, don't be silly. Those small wings couldn't possibly bear them."

"So why develop wings at all?" Abby mused, but Alice just laughed.

"It's _Wonderland_," she told Abby. "There's no _reason_ for anything."

The quintet rode further into the woods, Charlie sometimes pausing to croon strange phrases into the air. When questioned, he claimed he was using his mental connection to the ether, using black arts to find them appropriate prey. Connor started riding a little further from the knight at that point, still fairly certain the man was completely insane.

"So, you've never heard of any… rips in time? No extra monsters wandering about?" Connor asked Hatter.

Hatter shook his head. "Tulgey Woods has its own monsters, thanks very much. And the only portal I've ever heard of is the Looking Glass. I think there used to be more… Rabbit Holes. But they've been closed up for ages."

Connor frowned. "That's interesting. No anomalies in Wonderland."

"Unless the Glass is a controlled anomaly," Abby said.

The idea made Connor's eyes glaze over, considering the possibilities. "A controlled anomaly… one you could open whenever you wanted…."

"Oh no," Abby said to Alice. "We've just created a monster – Connor with an idea." Alice snickered.

The White Knight led them into a small crevasse in the woods. There ahead of them stood a male Jabberwock, maybe not as big as the one that chased Alice and Hatter on their original adventure, but clearly large enough for their guests, judging from Connor and Abby's expressions.

"A-ha!" cried Charlie. He lifted a silver horn to his lips and blew several loud bleating blasts, no more melodious than the honks of the Jabberwocky. Their mounts jumped in surprise. Charlie bellowed, "Tally-Ho! To the chase! The game is a-shoe!" He dug his heels into his faithful mount's sides with a few more blasts on the horn.

The male Jabberwock gave a full throated honking roar, and turned tail and fled through the woods, Charlie bouncing along on his horse's back behind it. With a whoop, Hatter, Alice and Abby gave chase, but Connor's mount stopped suddenly, having left its rider behind.

"Go on, go on! I'll catch up!" Connor yelled, waving at them as he staggered to his horse's side. Minutes later, Alice looked back to see him clinging like a burr to the saddle, but gaining ground.

The Jabberwock led them on a wild chase, through the woods, over hills, through underbrush and brambles. The ungainly beast moved remarkably quickly. It charged through a particularly dense thicket, and while Charlie, Hatter, and Abby followed quickly, Alice reined in to check behind her.

A pained yelp told her that Connor had come unstuck from his saddle… again. "Are you alright?" Alice yelled, not sure exactly where he was through the thick trees.

"Yeah, yeah, go on!" came his strained-sounding reply, and Alice worried he'd been injured. Fortunately, her fears were put to rest when she spotted him, seated once more on his horse.

Alice turned her mount to follow the rest, assured Connor could see where she was going. The Jabberwock had retreated to a den dug out of a hillock, and as Alice reached the others, Charlie rode forward towards the dark mouth of the den.

"A noble chase! But the beast has gone to ground, and we have not the spears needed to drive it forth," he announced.

Abby's expression was horrified, so Alice quickly and quietly assured her, "Charlie never brings spears, _never._ Not once has he ever actually caught and killed a Jabberwock."

The knight circled his mount a few times, then made a clanking dismount in his armor. He tugged on a pair of lumpy satchels tied to his saddle, and for the first time, the others took note of the bags. Removing them at last, Charlie upended them, dumping many green heads of cabbage on the ground in front of the den.

"What's that?" Abby asked.

"That's what they eat," Hatter explained. "Cabbages and kings."

"Really?"

"Yes. No. Yes. Well, mostly cabbages."

By this time, Charlie had remounted and joined them a little way from the den. With a low honk and a snort, the Jabberwock emerged slowly. It bleated at Charlie, then settled to eating the cabbages.

A rustling in the underbrush made them turn to see Connor at last arriving. He was hunched forward over the saddlehorn, one arm wrapped around his midsection, and his shoulders were shaking.

"Oh my god, Conn! Are you alright?" Abby cried.

He sat up quickly, and everyone could see the wide grin on his face. He was laughing so hard, he wasn't making any noise. His shoulders shook, and tears ran down his cheeks. No doubt he clung to his gut because the laughter made him ache. He dragged in a breath and gasped, "Funniest… fucking… thing…. EVER!"

Hatter let out a bark of amusement as they all started to grin back at the disheveled member of their party. A streak of dirt stained Connor's face, and it looked like he'd ridden through branches, because his cheek was scratched. His clothes were filthy, and leaves stuck to him. Alice and Abby began to giggle as Connor took in the sight of the Jabberwock happily eating cabbages and honking quietly to itself, which just made the young Englishman laugh harder, which made the women giggle more, which soon had Hatter and Charlie chuckling.

Finally Connor gasped and tried to control his breathing. He wiped his face with a dirty sleeve, smearing mud. "Bugger, my face hurts," he said, to which Hatter let out a small snort. "But I really should get better at this riding shit before we do this again," Connor told Charlie with mock-seriousness.

"Indeed, young squire, you seemed to have learned at the school of … ahem… hard knocks." Charlie agreed solemnly.

"That's an understatement, Charlie," Connor replied cheerfully, and suddenly to Alice, there seemed to be no difference between Connor and Hatter. The bright crooked grin, the sparkling dark eyes, the wiseass expression; Alice was so glad to have one of her own, and couldn't help thinking that if Abby really wanted to toss the other one away, some other woman would be the luckiest person ever. However, from the wide eyed, slightly fascinated expression on Abby's face, it seemed the girl was finally catching a clue, as Hatter would say. Connor's gaze turned to Abby. "Alright there, Abs?"

"How many times did you fall off?" she asked him, apparently shaking off her fascination.

Connor shrugged. "Two? Three? Four? Might have been three."

"You could have a concussion." Abby stated, sounding more accusing than concerned.

"I'm fine, Abby. 'S what the helmet's for."

Alice thought about letting this play out, but it seemed Abby would critique Connor no matter what he did, or how happy he seemed, so she intervened. "We'd better get started back, it'll be a long ride."

"We have come pretty far," Hatter agreed. The not-hunting, just-chasing party began the ride back to the Heart Castle.

"So wait, do all the Jabberwocks know that you're not actually going to kill them?" Abby asked Charlie.

"Jabberwocky."

"Sorry?"

"The plural is Jabberwocky. One Jabberwock, several Jabberwocky. And no, most adult males would chase _us_, with the very real intent on killing us."

"So why…?"

When Charlie simply turned red and wouldn't answer, Hatter took over the explanation. "See, Charlie here won't admit he's got a bit of a soft spot for that one fellow. Seems some renegade Suits, back when Ol' Jackie-boy was still consolidating his rule, killed a female, leaving the kit to starve. And Charlie here found the kit, and raised it until it was able to fend for itself."

"That was Charlie's _pet Jabberwock?_" Abby sounded utterly disbelieving.

"He's not a _tame_ Jabberwock," Charlie insisted. "But we have a gentlemen's agreement regarding sport."

* * *

_to be continued_


	9. Chapter 9

SEVENTEEN

_(the Heart Castle)_

"Oh, thank goodness you're back!" Duchess Grace exclaimed from a window overlooking the stable-yard, as the hunting party turned their mounts over to grooms.

"What's wrong?" Hatter asked quickly, speaking for all.

"I need Abby and Alice for fittings! It's all well and good for you men – just like Jack, you just throw on whatever's laid out for you. But it's already after luncheon, the ball starts at dusk, and the seamstresses need SOME time to alter to fit!" Grace looked frantic, but Hatter's eyes had glazed within the first sentence.

Alice laughed and pulled Abby after her, going off to meet Grace to do womanly things. Charlie was called away as well, to organize an honor guard of knights for the event. Hatter sniggered at the expression of relief on Connor's face as the two found themselves abandoned.

"I suppose, since they know what fits you, they don't need me, yeah?" the younger man asked.

"S'right. C'mon, let's dig up some lunch."

After a highly successful raid on the castle kitchen, during which Hatter demonstrated to Connor the ways a charming grin can get him just about anything, Hatter led the way to a billiards room, since the men had a few hours before they had to get ready for the evening's event, and neither particularly cared about their relative states of dishevelment.

"How are you at billiards?"

"I suck," Connor admitted ruefully.

"Fine, no games then. Ah!" Hatter found the hidden catch on a wall, opening a panel to reveal a bottle of amber liquid and several low glasses. "Jackie-boy's secret stash!" He examined the bottle. "Huh. 'Oban'."

"Oban! That's good stuff," Connor said.

As Hatter pulled out glasses, a third voice called out, "Make it three, if you please." Jack slipped through the door, looking worn out.

"Busy morning?" Hatter asked, pouring two fingers for each man.

Jack sighed. "Honestly, I don't know how anyone does it." He sipped the single-malt Hatter handed him with a relieved expression, then moved to sit in a leather armchair. Connor and Hatter collected their drinks and sat nearby. "I don't recall anything like this sort of work going on when my mother held the throne."

"Yeah, but your mother didn't do any of this sort of work, now did she?" Hatter pointed out.

"True," Jack conceded. To Connor he said, "We've brought a single home wind power unit from New York, and our people are working on setting it up, but we're going to have to see if we can generate enough power to meet our growing demands."

"You've got a monitor, to track output?" Connor asked.

Soon all three men were engaged in discussing Wonderland's energy needs, and Jack's plans for importing and adapting Earth technology. It wasn't long before Jack was providing paper and pen for Connor to draw up suggestions, giving Jack shortcuts that would speed up their progress immensely.

Eventually, Jack chuckled. "I must say, it was a very good thing for me, when the Looking Glass inadvertently brought you here, Connor. These are brilliant. I appreciate your input." He held out his glass for Hatter to refill. All three had merely sipped at their scotch, so none were in danger of embarrassing themselves at the ball. Hatter handed back the glass, and Jack rolled it between his palms a moment, before leaning forward. He glanced at Hatter, who merely gave him a smirk in return. Hatter knew where this was going. He'd seen it last night. Alice had even discussed the possibility with him. And now, Jack was going to make an offer to Connor. The question was, would Connor refuse or accept?

Connor glanced between the two, sensing something was up. With a slight clearing of his throat, Jack said, "Connor, I'd like to make a suggestion… an offer really. Wonderland, and my rule, could use someone of your skills and knowledge."

Connor blinked and sat up straight in surprise. Jack went on. "I'd like you to consider staying. Full retainer to the Crown, even a title if you wanted, a Dukedom perhaps, and you'd be housed and complete supported here at the Castle. I'd like you to become my Technology Suit.. er, Advisor. You wouldn't be obliged to accept a rank as a Suit, of course."

"Make him a Hatter." Hatter suggested. "Isn't really Wonderland without a Mad Hatter, is it?"

Jack ignored him. "You'd be paid as well. And I'm sure we could arrange for you to visit London from time to time. You'd have complete control of our progress – energy production, technology adaptation, and so forth, plus input on our cultural importations as well."

Connor's mouth moved a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't find words. Jack held up a hand. "Please don't make a decision hastily. You can certainly think about it. The New York mission is still ongoing – we won't be able to recalibrate back to London until late tomorrow afternoon. I do hope you can give me an answer by then." Jack tossed back the rest of his drink and stood. "Well. I should go get ready now. Grace will skin me if I don't change for her ball tonight." He gave Connor and Hatter a small smile, nodded, and left.

Connor let out a long breath as soon as the King was gone. "Bloody hell." He narrowed his eyes at Hatter. "You knew. You knew he was going to offer me a job."

Hatter swirled his scotch nonchalantly. "I knew it was a possibility. You were talking so much last night, you didn't see how Jack and Phillip listened to you."

Connor frowned. "But to ask me to stay? Isn't that a bit much?"

"Jack needs good people. He needs smart people. You're both."

"What about Abby?"

"What about her?"

"Is Jack going to offer her a job too?"

Hatter cocked his head. Now they were getting somewhere. "Why would he? She doesn't have any skills he needs." It seemed Connor wouldn't consider staying without Abby.

"Abby's brilliant too. She's the best."

"The best what?"

"Abby knows animals, she's excellent with them."

"No zoos in Wonderland." Hatter pointed out dryly. It made Connor scowl.

"I already have a job," Connor said flatly, setting his unfinished scotch down. "I have a life. On the other side of the Looking Glass from here."

Hatter leaned forward in his chair. Now was time to push. "Do you? Really? Big family, close friends? Satisfying work? You've got respect and power and everything you could want there?"

"I … It's _important_ work! We save lives!" His omissions told Hatter more than he'd think. Clearly, Connor did not have a big family, or many close friends, or was respected.

"Ah, so you're a hero then. Must be beating back the ladies with a stick, yeah?"

Connor stood angrily. "Why the hell am I even arguing about this? I'm not taking Jack's job, I'm going home with Abby tomorrow."

Hatter leaned back again, his tone deliberately careless. "Yeah, because Abby can't live without you, of course. You two are a solid couple, sacrifice anything to stay together, you would."

The anger on Connor's face turned him grimmer than Hatter would have thought possible. "I'd die for Abby," he hissed lowly, "I'll do anything for her, and I'll protect her from everything if I have to." Hatter was impressed. He hadn't thought Connor had it in him. Connor went on. "You don't know– you have no idea what we do. Every day, one of us could die. One of us already has. Stephen sacrificed himself to save Cutter, that's the level of loyalty we have on our team! He let himself get…get _shredded_ by monsters, to save lives." Connor's hands were tightly curled into fists that trembled under the strain. His voice became ragged with intensity. "I would never _ever_ betray the team by quitting. _NEVER._"

Hatter held up his hands. He knew there was no way Connor had a right cross like his own, but he still didn't mean to drive his little brother into throwing punches. Whomever this Stephen was, his loss and what it meant to whatever work Abby and Connor did was a still-bleeding wound for the younger man. "Alright. Sorry. Really, little brother, I'm sorry," Hatter soothed. He cocked his head, waiting for the anger to bleed out of Connor's frame. When it finally did, after a few moments of silence, Hatter wordlessly handed him back his glass of scotch. Connor tossed back the last of the whiskey, as Hatter said, "I get it you know." At Connor's questioning look, he finished, "I feel exactly the same way about Alice."

* * *

_to be continued_


	10. Chapter 10

_To Loresta: I accept no responsibility for your GPA if you're watching Primeval instead of doing your homework, ha ha ha. But in the spirit of full disclosure: there have been days when I have "worked from home" – and in fact been watching Primeval all day myself. _

* * *

EIGHTEEN

_(the chambers reserved for Lady Alice)_

The suit-maids gave Abby just enough time for a fast shower, before shoving her into a robe and slippers and hustling her down the hall to Alice's antechamber, where several seamstresses waited with Grace and an equally quickly showered Alice. There were nearly a dozen maids in the room – assisting the seamstresses, giving manicures and pedicures, preparing accessories and essentials.

Thankfully, a luncheon was on the table; Finger sandwiches and drinks and petit fours.

Alice bore the pins and fussing first, getting fitted into a bateau-necked princess-seamed ball gown of dark sapphire satin, highlighted with scattered crystal embroidery. There were coordinating silver opera gloves, since the gown was sleeveless. The skirt formed a smooth a-line to the floor. Alice fidgeted while the seamstress adjusted the hem.

Abby took the opportunity to have some lunch while a maid professionally buffed her toenails.

"My dress is gold, of course," Grace explained. "With ivory gloves. For you, Abby…"

"Red?" the behaviorist asked.

"Initially I thought red, but perhaps, emerald?" A number of covered gowns hung on a rolling rack.

"White," Alice suggested.

Abby wrinkled her nose. "I'll look like a bride, for goodness's sake. And Grace is the only bride around here." It was fun, actually, sitting here, letting maids fuss over her, chatting with girl friends. A little like being a princess. Abby wasn't used to having 'girly' female friends.

Grace blushed prettily. "Still several months away, it's only autumn now." She reached over to grasp Abby's hand. "If I send you and Connor an invitation, will you come?"

"To your wedding? Of course!" Abby smiled, genuinely flattered to be invited. She'd really come to like Grace. Alice as well, despite the other woman's knowing ways.

"The dress, my lady?" a seamstress asked, hovering near the rack. They had to pick before Abby could be fitted. The emerald dress was offered, but the skirt was too full for Abby's taste.

"Maybe the silver?" Grace suggested. The silver was slinky and slitted, but Abby quickly declared she hadn't the bust to fill it out properly.

"Wait, where's that amethyst thing you put in my closet last time?" Alice said suddenly, hopping off the stand without regard to the sewer's protest. "I never wore it." She hurried into her bedroom, followed by a maid who retrieved the dress.

The smoky amethyst colored silk gown had a simple square neckline with little fluttery cap sleeves. The a-line skirt which fell from a natural waist was formed of layers of chiffon, artfully overlapping, so it almost looked shredded. The bodice was heavily embroidered and beaded, with lace detailing, all in the identical shade of amethyst, so instead of looking busy, it looked bohemian.

"Wow!" Abby gasped. "You didn't wear it?"

Alice rolled her eyes with a playful sneer at Grace. "You'd be amazed at what ends up in the closet back there. This one is like every movie star in our world rolled into one – the burgeoning fashion designers of Wonderland _give_ her tons of clothing, in hopes she might wear something _once_ where everyone will see her."

Grace blushed and waved a hand as if to deny Alice's explanation, but Abby guessed it was true. When you're about to be the wife of the King, that's about as fashion-plate as one can get around here.

In moments, Abby had on silver heels, and found herself standing on the seamstress's platform. The skirt was just the right length to not need any adjustments, so long as Abby wore the heels. The three seamstresses fussed and muttered about the bodice, trying to decide where and how to take it in a bit.

"Liz Taylor eyes," Alice said randomly, letting maids help her out of her gown and into a robe.

"Whom?" asked Grace.

"Actress on Earth. She's famous for her deep blue, almost-purple eyes. That dress makes Abby's eyes almost purple too, just like Liz Taylor."

"Ah," Grace nodded. She considered Abby's face. "Black eyeliner. Smudged."

Abby smirked. "Yeah, I've done that before."

"Silver on the lids," Alice added. "Connor is going to have a heart attack and die when he sees you."

Abby flushed.

"Don't blush, that's the point of getting dressed up, isn't it? After all, it's good for them." The Duchess sipped her tea calmly as Abby giggled at her.

"How can it be good for _them?_" Abby asked.

"Why, it does their hearts proud, to know they're worthy of such gorgeous creatures like us," Grace pronounced solemnly, and Alice cracked up.

"_You really think she's pretty, Jack?"_ she said in a mocking tone, apparently quoting something Grace had once said, for the Duchess turned very red.

"Ugh, I was completely high on Arrogance that day! And then the Queen had me feeding Jack cocktails of Honesty, trying to figure out why he'd singled you out. What a mess we all were."

"All's well that ends well," Alice said.

Abby smiled too, amused by the friendly banter between Alice and Grace. The seamstresses helped her out of her dress and back into the robe. Soon the flurry of sewers and maid began to filter out of the room.

"Well!" announced Grace, standing. "I should get going. There are always some last minute details to attend to. I'll order light dinners delivered to your rooms." She departed with a smile and a wave, leaving Alice and Abby alone together.

"Ah!" Alice stretched in her chair, wiggling her toes. "It's always fun, you know, to have a fast get away in Wonderland. Of course, the first time I was here, I thought it was a mad-house. It got much better after Jack became King."

Abby nodded. "I can tell. I guess at first … well, I'm not used to people just being … welcoming." At Alice's encouraging expression, she went on slowly, "All my life, I've had to fight for myself. My home life wasn't good, at all. And I gave up uni to go to work. It was my dream job, so that was what I wanted to do. But I got laid off right as the whole…let's say the timing of getting my current job was really lucky. And that's how I met Connor and somehow he talked his way into sharing my flat with me." Abby knew she wasn't making much sense, but Alice nodded like she totally understood. "Anyway, our job is really stressful and dangerous, and it just took me a little time to relax, I guess."

"It's okay, Abby. It's hard to learn to actually not look a gift horse in the mouth. But you're safe here, and I promise, there are no ulterior motives or anything."

Abby gave Alice a lopsided grin. "Thanks."

Alice poured herself another drink, lemonade apparently. "So… Connor talked his way into living with you?"

"Actually, he sort of blackmailed me."

"You're kidding!"

"No, I'm not. There was a creature, a harmless one that got trapped in our time, and I just …. took it home. And Connor found out, and threatened to tell our boss if I didn't let him kip on the couch for a while. It just kinda… he never did move out again. Then we moved into a bigger flat together, like it was totally natural. I still have to yell at him to clean up after himself and stuff, but he pays half the rent and groceries."

"Abby…. he cares about you so much. It's all over his face every time he looks at you."

"I know," Abby sighed. "It's just…. it's too much. And it doesn't make any sense, I mean, I don't encourage him or anything."

"You don't have to. He's decided. You're it for him."

Abby bit her lip. She knew that. She knew deep down that Connor's devotion wasn't simply fancying her, or just trying to get into her knickers like so many other men. She clearly remembered what he'd said in that awful future, holding on to her hand, refusing to let her fall. But in their real time, it seemed so much safer to pretend that it never happened, that he hadn't confessed his feelings. He'd backed down, and she let him. And yet somehow, strangely, Abby was apparently everything Connor wanted. She didn't really know how to handle that.

Alice could apparently read this on her face, because she said, "You don't have to do anything special. Just let him in." She tilted her head consideringly. "What was it today?"

"Huh?"

"You gave him a funny look today, out in the woods, after he caught up to us. What was that about?"

"Oh!" Abby thought back. "He was laughing. We're always so busy, or wired. I've seen him laugh before, you know, but never that sort of all out laugh." She couldn't keep the slightly wistful smile off her face, not realizing how much affection for Connor shone through it. "It was different. Instead of his usual kind of strange giggle, he was belly-laughing. I'd never seen that before."

"Hm," Alice hummed, pleased to see affection in Abby's face. "Well, I think you should just relax and enjoy this vacation from reality for a bit. And give the guy a chance. Trust me when I tell you that having a man totally devoted to you like that is pretty awesome."

* * *

_to be continued_

_AN: filler mainly…not crazy about this part, but after having a Jack-Hatter-Connor scene, I wanted a Grace-Alice-Abby scene for balance._


	11. Chapter 11

NINETEEN

_(the chamber assigned to Connor Temple and the chamber assigned to Ms. Abby Maitland)_

Connor groaned. It was nearly time to go down to the ball, and he honestly had no idea what to do with this thing. He didn't hate formalwear out of hand, but really, sometimes the arcane ins and outs of the various accessories and things left him completely lost.

The black tuxedo trousers had a close fit, which he presumed was normal, with a one button jacket that had a bit of tails in the back. The white shirt with its little bent over collar corners was fine, and he figured out the cufflinks easily. He rather liked the silver double-breasted waistcoat. But this weird scarf thing with the little pearl tack left him stumped.

Finally giving in, Connor grabbed the tack and slipped across the hall to knock on Abby's door.

"Who is it?" Her voice was muffled.

"It's Connor. Help!"

The door opened, and Connor lost all track of thought.

Soft instead of spiky for once, Abby's platinum hair framed her face. Her eyes looked amazing, all smoky and smudged and brilliantly blue. Her cheeks were apricot and cream, and he almost whimpered at the wet pink of her lips. Her dark lavender gown looked like something out of _Lord of the Rings_ to his eyes, and he had to hold back another moan at the sight of her sexily lavender painted toes peeking out the front of a pair of silver heels.

Unfortunately for him, when his eyes finally made it back up to her face, her challenging expression told him she'd noticed his once-over and he'd better say something fast.

"You look amazing!" he blurted gracelessly.

Luck took pity on Connor then, because instead of delivering a sharp comment, Abby just smiled at him. "Thanks." She eyed him in return. "Not bad yourself, Conn."

He could feel his cheeks warming. Abby rarely complimented him. "Thanks. But help!" He waved the scarf thing. "I don't know what to do with this. I mean, I know it goes around the neck and there's a tack but…."

Abby laughed. "Come in. We'll figure it out."

Ten minutes of exquisite torture followed for Connor, as he had to stand still while Abby fussed and pouted and bit her lip while standing not a foot from him, trying to tie the scarf thing around his neck. She'd try something, then change her mind and try again. Once she even ran her fingers down the front of his chest, smoothing the shirt, and he had to dredge up rigid control to keep from grabbing her and kissing her.

"It's supposed to be an ascot, I think," she told him. "It's… Victorian, yeah?"

"Too bad I never got into steampunk." Connor noted proudly his voice was only slightly strangled from the temptation.

But Abby frowned. "Too tight?" she asked. Before he could answer, she untied the scarf again. Her fingers brushed through the hair at the back of his neck as she adjusted the scarf and his collar one more time, and he could not stop the shiver that ran down his spine. She seemed not to notice as she turned the knot carefully, and puffed the silk out a bit. "There," she breathed. Then she tucked the ends under his vest. "Tack?"

Wordlessly, Connor dropped it into her waiting palm. Abby's fingers slipped between the buttons of his shirt and her nails just grazed his skin as she pinned the tack in place. He had to close his eyes and recite creature classifications in his head to try and control his body's reaction to her touch. _Um, Animalia, Chordata, Synapsida, Therapsida, Gorgonopsia, family Gorgonopsidae, genus Inostrancevia…._

Then Abby stood back and considered her work. "Alright, that looks good." She smiled and waved him towards her mirror. "Check it out."

Connor stumbled over and looked as ordered. The black silk ascot lay neatly against his chest, and the silver-set pearl tack was perfectly centered. When Abby came to stand behind his shoulder, he realized with a jolt how perfectly they matched. His silver vest complemented her soft purple gown. He buttoned the jacket, and Abby smiled into his eyes in the mirror. There was a touch of admiration in her expression which completely floored him.

"Maybe you should go steampunk, Conn. It suits you."

He shrugged. "It's the waistcoats," he told her self-effacing. "I just like 'em."

She giggled, a sound Connor happily stored away in his memory. "Whatever. Now go on, I have to finish getting ready myself."

"What do you mean? You already look perfect."

"Jewelry! Perfume, lipstick, accessories. Get out."

He let her shove him out her door, thinking to himself _oh good god, her lips are naturally that perfect pink._

Standing in the hall, Connor took a moment to savor the sensation of Abby fussing with his tie, smoothing his shirt, and leaning against him as they looked at themselves in her mirror. It wasn't just that she was a bit fit – she was; she was perfect in his mind, absolutely the finest female figure he'd ever seen. That she also had a killer smile, a wicked sense of humor, a brilliant mind, a heart of gold, a voice like velvet, and a generous, forgiving nature were all important elements of the wonder that was Abby.

The sound of someone clearing their throat knocked him out of his soppy reverie.

Hatter was watching him with an amused expression. The Wonderland native looked the part tonight. His black and grey striped suit – and it was striped, not pin-striped, but evenly striped – was offset by a white and grey paisley silk shirt and a dark blue vest. Hatter being Hatter, the vest was unbuttoned, the shirt collar open, and a black skinny tie already loosened. Topping it all off was a top hat of the exact grey of the suit stripes, with a blue satin band. Again, shouldn't work, but did.

"Alright there, Connor?" Hatter asked.

"Yeah," the Englishman replied with a sheepish smile.

Hatter glanced at Abby's closed door. "Abby about ready?"

"Just about. She looks… she's….amazing."

Hatter grinned. "Try not to trip over your tongue when you drool, okay?"

Connor flushed in embarrassment. Then movement behind Hatter caught his attention. "Wow! Alice! Wow."

The other woman's gown looked like a starry sky, and matched the blue of Hatter's vest and hatband perfectly. She also had on satin opera gloves up to above her elbows, and her hair was pulled up in a sexily messy knot.

"Glad you approve, Connor," she said with a laugh, taking her husband's arm. Hatter gave her a proud grin and placed a kiss on the side of her neck while she giggled. "You clean up nice."

Connor brushed his hands down the front of his coat, then spread them wide, turning side to side. "Yeah? Abby says it suits me."

"It kinda does."

"Needs a hat," Hatter pointed out.

"Oh no, it doesn't. Would you stop?" Alice poked her husband in the ribs. "I swear, you're obsessed with the haberdashery."

But Connor grinned and ducked back into his room to grab the black top hat that came with the outfit. "Better?" He asked as he reemerged.

"Better!" Hatter laughed.

Abby chose that moment to exit her room. She'd added a pearl necklace and earrings, and white gloves. Connor couldn't tell if she wore lipstick or not – any excuse to stare at Abby, of course, but her lips didn't look any different to him. Other than, you know, perfect.

Abby and Alice complimented each other briefly, and Abby gave Hatter an amused once over, which only made him sneer playfully at her.

"Shall we, then?" Hatter suggested, and with his wife's hand tucked neatly around his elbow, he led the way down to the ball.

* * *

TWENTY

_(the ballroom of Heart Castle)_

While Wonderland feasts looked like disorganized wedding receptions, Wonderland Balls looked like the most posh cocktail party Abby had ever seen. Music filled the room from somewhere, but she spotted neither a band nor a disc jockey. Young women in mod mini-dresses in diamond patterns of red, white, and silver circulated with platters of hors d'oeuvres or drinks. Other guests wore a variety of styles, from little-black-dresses to ballgowns, simple suits to… was that a kilt? People were already drinking, laughing, and dancing.

"These will be alcoholic," Alice warned Abby. "Grace keeps the castle stocked for special events, just not every-day." As she spoke, Hatter relieved a Diamond server of a pair of flutes, and handed one to each woman with a grin. Connor was eyeing a tray nearby.

"What are those?" Abby asked him.

"Dunno. Something in bacon," he told her with a grin, and slipped away to find out. _Always his stomach first_, Abby thought with a wry shake of her head.

"There you are!" a musical voice called, and Duchess Grace appeared in front of them. She wore the gown of gold as she'd mentioned, shimmering in the lights. It had a sweetheart bodice and mermaid skirt, and she also wore over-the-elbow opera gloves. The dress clung in all the right places; it looked practically painted on. _Red Carpet Glamour,_ Abby thought instantly. With her golden hair in a similar messy updo to Alice's, and red pouty lips, Grace looked like she was about to attend the Oscars. She glided forward to embrace Alice and Abby, and receive a simple kiss on the cheek from Hatter, after he gave her an appreciative once-over and wolf whistle. "Hatter, you're awful," Grace laughed, but Abby could tell she was pleased. For such a gorgeous woman, she seemed to have a reflex for modesty. And yet, from Alice's stories, Grace was once one of the most arrogantly powerful and fierce women of the court. Those Emotion Teas must really mess with one's personality.

King Jack arrived at her elbow. He wore a formal contemporary tuxedo… except in crimson red, with a black waistcoat and tie over a white shirt. Together, he and Duchess Grace were blinding.

Abby realized the picture was perfect. Grace and Jack – the ruling Hearts were in red and gold, bright, glittering, bold. Alice and Hatter were the visiting heroes from the other world, darkness and moonlight and shadow.

_What does that make us?_ Abby wondered as Connor reappeared at her side, drink in hand. He quickly swallowed whatever it was he was eating and gave her a grin. She looked up at him, all bright smiles and crooked top hat, and realized how easily she could lose him to this mad world.

"Alright, Abbs?" he asked.

"Yeah. Yes, I'm fine. What did you find?" She replied, shaking off her sudden melancholy.

"Scallops wrapped in bacon, they're delicious, you should try them!"

Abby laughed. "Conn, you know they're like a cocktail party staple. You can buy them frozen at the grocer."

His eyes lit up. "Really? We should keep some 'round the flat, Abbs, they're excellent." She couldn't help it, she laughed at his delight, but he just smiled, un-offended. Then he looked over at Grace and Jack. "Whoa." With a bright expression, he sidled over, lifting Grace's hand to kiss the back of it as she laughed. "You look as radiant as the sun!" he told her.

"Hm. You know that's my fiancée you're complimenting so extravagantly," Jack said in a mock-stern voice.

"You're a lucky man, King Jack," Connor announced, and Grace blushed prettily as she leaned into Jack's side.

Alice slipped over next to Abby. "What's gotten into Connor?"

Abby shook her head in amazement. "I don't know."

"It's like he's channeling Hatter!" The two exchanged amused and horrified expressions.

"Enjoy yourselves," Grace told them all, as she and Jack moved off to greet more guests. Instead of being announced and entering late, the Royal Cards acted as host and hostess, greeting guests and circulating. Nothing like the sort of fancy balls Abby knew from films. Of course, the only one should could think of off hand was _My Fair Lady_, and yeah, she felt a little like Eliza Doolittle, dressed up and on good behavior, except of course that Eliza didn't have her best friend along to make jokes, constantly snag bites of food, keep them supplied with fresh drinks, and generally act like a lunatic.

In fact, since they'd lost Alice and Hatter somewhere along the way, the two of them were basically in their own little world together. People kept stopping Connor to shake his hand, addressing him as 'Hatter', and he kept grinning and just never corrected them. Abby would hide her smile by sipping her drink as Connor pretended to know who he was addressing, or what they were on about, and his comments got more and more outrageous.

Then suddenly, a meaty hand shot out of the crowd to grab Abby's arm. She found herself yanked around to come face to face with an older man, tall and stout, florid and scowling. He wore a long black coat, and he sneered at her. "So, at last the Hatter has done as expected and tossed aside the Alice of Legend for some bimbette."

"The hell?" Abby struggled to pull free, but his grip only tightened.

"Oi, let her go!" Connor wrapped an arm protectively around Abby's waist on the opposite side of her from the mad man.

"And you, Hatter –" the man's sneer dripped with suppressed hate and violence. "Why am I not surprised to find you swanning about as usual, taking advantage of past glories and other people's actions, putting a drain on the economy as you always do."

"Let. Go. Of. Her." Connor's dark eyes never left the man's face, and they flashed razor sharp with threat.

"'ere now, what's all this? Dodo, makin' yerself popular as usual, I see." Hatter popped up from behind the man, apparently called Dodo. Hatter's accent had thickened with derision. Abby could easily tell that for all this man hated Hatter, Hatter's animosity in return was even greater.

Dodo let go of Abby's arm in surprise, and Connor quickly gathered her close in his embrace, still scowling.

"Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, meet the Dodo – former resistance leader, former Librarian, and about to be former Education advisor." The pleasant tone Hatter used fooled no-one.

Dodo's lip curled. "You have no authority to make me former anything."

"Perhaps not, but I do." From behind Connor and Abby, Jack's voice came cold and sharp as knives. His blue eyes were as hard as steel. "How dare you accost my guests so rudely, Dodo. I've allowed you leeway for your long service to the Resistance during my mother's reign, but you go too far with this insult."

"Your Majesty, I do apologize." The Dodo's voice went from snarling to obsequious in a heartbeat. "Merely a case of mistaken identity, I assure you!" His eyes darted from Connor to Hatter in suspicion. "I had no idea that the Hatter had such a … close relation." There was an undercurrent to his voice Abby didn't like at all. As if he was contemplating missed opportunities.

"The use of common courtesy would have prevented such an error, Dodo," Jack informed him. He signaled for a suit guard. "Please escort the Dodo from the premises," Jack asked the suit. "The excitement of the evening is too much for his advanced age."

Unable to defy his king, the Dodo departed, but not without a venomous glare at Hatter, and a frosty one towards Abby and Connor. Hatter tossed a two fingered salute to the man's back as he was led away.

"I do apologize," Jack said softly to Abby. "The invitation to attend this evening was issued to all my advisors and members of the court. I'd quite forgotten about Dodo's…. irrationality towards Hatter, and it simply didn't occur to me he'd vent it upon you and Connor."

"It's alright," Abby told him. "He didn't hurt me." Jack took her hand and kissed the back of it gallantly, in thanks for her absolution. He moved off to catch Phillip, no doubt to pass on orders about Dodo's forced resignation.

"Alright then?" Hatter asked them. When they both nodded, he gave them a wink and wandered away again.

"C'mon," Connor said lowly in her ear, and led her aside to a quiet spot along the wall of the ball room. He hung his head, and looked up at her through his lashes as they stood together, and Abby found herself breathing shallowly, as if in anticipation of something. Connor's hand came up and his fingers gently brushed against the skin of her upper arm, where Dodo had grabbed her. "You might have a bruise," he said quietly.

"It's not a big deal," she told him.

"Abby… I'm sorry."

She blinked in surprise. "For what?"

"It was my fault. I was… letting people think I was Hatter. I thought it was funny. I forgot… I forgot Wonderland used to be dangerous."

"Conn, it's okay. I'm fine." His gaze searched her face for the truth of her words.

Suddenly, he blurted, "Jack asked me to stay."

Abby's eyes widened. "He did!"

"He wants me to be his Technology Advisor. Handle all the tech imports and adaptations. Plus have input on what sort of cultural stuff they bring over."

Stomach clenching, but with what she couldn't say, Abby gave him a crooked smile. "You'll have the entire place hooked on sci-fi before the year is out."

His answering smile was equally off-balance. "Not that I don't think Wonderland could use a good dose of sci-fi – _Firefly_ would probably be huge –" Abby giggled a little hysterically, remembering a weekend in which Connor forced her to watch the entire series, plus the movie. "– but I'm going to tell him no."

She let out a huff of air she hadn't realized she was holding. "No?"

He shook his head. "I can't stay. What we do, it's too important to give up."

Abby blinked back sudden tears of relief. She didn't want him to see how afraid she'd been that he'd stay in Wonderland. "When will you tell him?"

"Tomorrow. He wanted me to think about it, but I don't have to. I'm going home. With you." They both froze a moment, taking in what had been said and what had been heard, what had been implied by Connor's words. Abby saw his gaze flick to her mouth and back. But before he could even lean in, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, nestling her head under his chin as she often did when giving him a friendly hug.

"I'm glad to hear it," she told him lightly, pushing the moment aside as she always did. "I don't think I could manage Cutter and Lester without you for back up." She felt him let out a sigh, and then chuckle lightly over her.

"Frankly, I'll take Cutter over Lester any day," he joked, and the moment that could have had such meaning for both of them was swept away.

* * *

_to be continued_

_(AN: OMG, please don't lynch me! LOL! But I'm trying to keep to Primeval canon, which means no snogging yet for Abby & Connor… despite how much as we want them to!)_


	12. Chapter 12

_(AN: Just a reminder – this is set after 'Alice' but before Series 3 of Primeval. Just in case y'all were like 'canon? we don't need no stinkin' canon' over my torment of Abby & Connor. I need to let them get into Series 3 with UST intact. Because yes, I'm contemplating a sequel to this.)_

* * *

TWENTY-ONE

_(the ballroom of Heart Castle)_

"Everything all right?" Alice asked quietly.

"Yeah, just Dodo being his usual self," Hatter told her, sliding his arm around her waist, enjoying the feeling of having her close. He smiled down at his wife. _His wife!_

After only three months together in Alice's world, they'd moved in to a flat together, reveling in the freedom of sharing every moment of their days. Three months after that, after careful research to make sure he did it right, Hatter took her out for a romantic meal, a sapphire ring a heavy weight in his pocket.

Of course, the service was terrible, their entrées came out cold, Hatter got into an argument over it with the manager, which got them thrown out, and then they nearly got mugged on the way home. Hatter punched out the mugger and left him unconscious. By the time they were safely locked in their apartment, Alice was laughing until her make up ran, Hatter was morose over the ruination of the evening,_ and_ it had rained on them.

So it wasn't until they were cleaned up and changed into their lounging pajamas that Hatter decided to take a stab at it anyway. There in their living room, over television and cheap wine, in their pajamas, Hatter got on one knee beside the sofa, and asked Alice to marry him.

He'd never thought he'd find a woman to truly love. He never expected he'd fall in love with anyone in the first place; Wonderland being what it was, a serious relationship posed a terrible risk for the tea house owner who also supplied the Resistance. Cheerful little pretty tea-heads had been more Hatter's speed – bimbettes, just as Dodo had said. Pretty young women, all brittle with false smiles and expensive tea habits, with whom Hatter could pass the time until he tired of them, or they found a better sugar daddy.

When lust came from a bottle, and satisfaction as well, the physical fun and games were just icing on the cream cake, and even when Hatter didn't _take the edge off_ with a drop of Tea in his tea, he still went in for the quick and easy, no strings attached.

Then Alice had appeared, and turned his world and his heart upside down. Sometimes, he almost cried at the warm comfort of their days – the sheer relief of simple day to day existence, when the most exciting things happened in their bedroom, not running for their lives in the streets. He often caught himself just watching Alice as she puttered about, or surfed the internet, just looking at this marvelous woman who'd trusted him with her life and her heart, and thinking about how bloody lucky he'd been to find her.

They'd been married quietly in a city office, only Carol and a couple of Alice's closest relations in attendance. The reception had been a dinner party in a nice restaurant, and their honeymoon… well, they'd told everyone they'd spent the week at home together, but in actuality, they'd returned to Wonderland for a leisurely vacation tour, allowing Grace to pamper them, visiting with Charlie, and rebuilding a friendship with Jack.

Hatter gave his wife a squeeze, pressing his nose to her hair and breathing deeply of her scent and her warmth.

"Hatter?" she asked, looking at him quizzically.

"I love you," he simply told her. Her smile brightened his world.

"I love you too," she answered, resting her head against his shoulder.

A crescendo of strings filled the air, an opening flourish to a popular waltz. Wonderlanders went in for all sorts of music. Jack had been careful, on Alice's advise, to limit certain styles – particularly violent rap and particularly bleak suicidal goth rock had both been taken off the import list – but for the most part, all sorts of imported music had become popular very rapidly, once inexpensive players had been produced and made available to the populace for minimal cost. There were days when the City rang with various songs all competing on the air as neighbors got into lighthearted volume wars.

Danceable music in particular thrilled the inhabitants of this world, and dance halls were cropping up in place of tea houses all over Wonderland. Of course, Wonderlanders did everything their own slightly off-kilter way. Alice had laughed herself silly when told that "slam-polka" had become very popular among the young and fashionably disaffected. A waltz at a ball was a swirling mass of couples swooping in every direction.

So of course, Hatter had to drag Alice out to dance.

When noticed, people made way for them. They were the Heroes of Wonderland after all – the Lady Alice of Legend and her Mad Hatter. Everyone knew the story, how Alice had followed Jack through the Looking Glass to save him, how Hatter had been a Resistance supporter and spy, how the White Knight used black arts to raise the Red King's dead army.

Of course, the stories were ridiculously embellished at points. Hatter didn't mind the ones that played up their romance – or his good looks, actually – but really, nobody could take on a _pack_ of Jabberwocky single handed, seriously.

Soon King Jack and Duchess Grace joined the dance, and people made way on the floor just to watch the two famous couples. As the song wound down, Hatter spotted Connor and Abby watching them, and he pointed them out to Alice with a jerk of his chin.

As the music stopped, and a new song started, Alice laughed and turned to their friends.

"Connor! Dance with me!" Alice ordered, reaching for him.

The Englishman's expression turned frightened. "But… I don't know how to dance to this…"

"It's a tango," Abby said.

"And that doesn't help at all, Abbs," Connor shot back.

"You just make it up, like everyone else does!" Hatter laughed, taking Abby's hand and spinning her onto the floor. "C'mon, Abby, we'll show them how it's done."

Alice pulled Connor onto the floor, and as usual in Wonderland, everyone just made it up as they went along. Soon Connor was laughing helplessly as he apologized every few seconds for stepping on Alice's toes… or when Alice stepped on him. Hatter was pleased to see his little brother having fun, and he enjoyed dancing with Abby as well. She was obviously a hell of a dancer – she managed to follow every twist and turn he threw at her. If only either of them actually knew how to tango, Hatter was sure they'd be killer on the dance floor.

"You're brilliant!" He told her at one point, and when she laughed, he felt very good. Yeah, his little brother had set his sights on a hell of a package here. Had Hatter not had his Alice, he might have been tempted to see if he could've stolen Abby away from Connor. But that wasn't really his style, in truth, and he did have his Alice, and he didn't want it any other way.

As the music ended, he heard Connor saying "– can't dance for shite."

"I think you did fine," Alice told him, patting his shoulder.

"If Alice's feet are black and blue tonight, I apologize," Connor said to Hatter, who laughed.

"Drinks!" he announced, leading the quartet off the floor, reclaiming his wife's hand.

* * *

TWENTY-TWO

_(the ballroom of Heart Castle)_

Long after midnight, closer to dawn in fact, the crowd in the ballroom started to thin out. People bowed to their King and his future Queen, bidding their heroes goodnight, with smiles for their guests. Over the course of the evening, several rumors had circulated about Hatter and Connor – everything from secret twin brothers to a strange Looking Glass accident creating a double. Neither man bothered to correct anyone.

A sweet melody filled the air, and Jack immediately led Grace onto the nearly empty dance-floor. With an unusually soft expression, Hatter followed suit with Alice. Connor and Abby watched.

Abby told Connor, "Jack and Grace are noon, Hatter and Alice are midnight. Do you see it?"

He nodded, a wry smile for her uncharacteristic romanticism. "What does that make us?" he asked, a surprising echo of her thought earlier in the evening.

"What do you think?"

He considered a minute, then grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the floor. They hadn't danced with each other all night, and even now, it made Abby's heart beat a little harder to feel his one hand on the small of her back, and the other holding her hand in a gentle grip. "Twilight," he told her. "I mean, after sunset, you know, not that weird teen girl book." Abby just laughed. "Moonrise," he went on as he moved her around the floor, "when the moon looks close enough to touch."

"Connor…" Abby breathed, but he shook his head.

"It's okay, Abbs. Just dance with me." His smile was wry and gentle.

So she did. She found it difficult to hold his gaze for long, but she went along with the dance, letting him lead. For once.

* * *

TWENTY-THREE

_(the guest wing)_

Later in his room, Connor lay back on his bed and mentally replayed every moment with Abby at the ball, from the way she'd laughed to the way she'd pressed against him during the confrontation with Dodo, to the rosy blush on her cheeks as they'd danced. No matter what happened when they got back to London, he'd hang on to those memories forever.

Abby curled into a comfortable ball on her bed. She was sure she'd sleep until noon. The ball had been fun – she'd enjoyed all the primping and dressing up, since she rarely did so in the real world. She'd also privately really liked the way Connor looked at her all night. Not that he didn't always look at her with admiration, but tonight had been extra special. And even though she'd ducked the moment when she though he would try to kiss her… well, maybe she _should_ give him a chance.

Alice lingered over her husband's lips, both of them breathless and sweaty. She certainly never wanted for attention with a man as energetic and intense as Hatter. He grinned up at her, his eyes half-hooded with satisfaction and pleasure. Before she'd met him, Alice never really believed in love. The disappearance of her father and the years of grieving she'd watched her mother suffer only served to convince the young Alice that love was a dangerous, foolish, weakness. So she'd unconsciously sabotaged every relationship she'd ever had. Until she met Hatter, who'd blithely refused to let her ruin them. He'd simply moved into her heart without warning, making himself at home. And Alice now couldn't fathom her life without him.

Hatter grinned up at his gorgeous sexy wife. He could see the play of thoughts on her face, the ones he knew always ran through her head. A heady mix of disbelief, surprise, amusement, love, passion, and joy. Pretty much the exact same way he felt about her: disbelief and surprise that she'd chosen him, amusement at the many ways they were so different, intense love for her, passion for her that made it hard sometimes to even let her get out of the flat, and joy that they were together, and would be for the rest of their lives. _All in all, a damned good way to spend a life_, he thought, pulling her down against his chest to snuggle her.

* * *

_to be continued_


	13. Chapter 13

TWENTY-FOUR

_(the chamber assigned to Mr. Connor Temple)_

It was the scent of coffee that roused Connor at last. He rolled and blinked blearily at the little table and chairs in the corner. A brunch tray sat on the table, and his doppelganger sat in a chair, idly doing tricks with his hat.

"Wakey wakey, little brother," Hatter said.

"Time?" Connor asked hoarsely.

"Well past noon, I'm afraid."

Connor grunted. He rolled out of the bed and stumbled over to the empty chair, unconcerned about his state of undress. He no longer cared what Hatter saw. At this moment, he only cared about getting an injection of caffeine into his system. He sloshed cream, sugar, and coffee into a cup and gulped down the warm liquid. There was also tea and toast and jams, slices of some fruit, and a bowl of something brownish.

At his questioning expression, Hatter said, "Porridge. Heavy on the cinnamon."

To his surprise, Connor found it quite tasty, and quickly finished the bowl, along with all the toast. Hatter helped himself to tea. Sated, the Englishman sat back, and raised his coffee in a toast to his double. Hatter smirked and imitated the gesture.

"Cheers then," the Wonderland said before tipping up his teacup.

"How long were you watching me sleep?" Connor asked.

Hatter shrugged. "'Bout an hour."

Connor thought he ought to be bothered by that, but he really wasn't. He simply refilled his coffee cup.

Silence reigned between them. Connor could tell that Hatter had something on his mind, but chose to wait until the other man started. He knew Hatter would crack eventually, since the energetic man couldn't either keep still or keep his mouth shut to save his life.

"So… you know… Neither Alice nor I have very many… mates. On the other side. She's got a couple old friends from university, and a few pals at the dojo where she teaches, but that's about it. And me, well – it was never safe to have close mates _here_, and of course, I've got none there." Connor nodded, but continued to wait. "And well, truth is, I don't know anything about me own family. It's entirely possible we could be related in a distant sort of way."

"I'd be surprised," Connor commented.

"Yeah, well," Hatter dismissed that with a shrug.

After a moment, Connor asked, "What do you want, Hatter?"

Their eyes met, and it was nothing like looking in a mirror. It wasn't the physical characteristics, it was the emotional mileage.

"Sorry about Dodo, last night." Hatter said in a change of subject.

"No worries. Another minute, and I think Abby would have decked him."

Hatter smirked. "Just Dodo's luck, he keeps picking on women who can beat him up."

This time, it was Connor who broke the ensuing silence. "Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"How about email?"

"Yeah, that too."

"Make sure you give me that info today." Connor could tell that the request answered whatever question Hatter hadn't wanted to ask a minute ago. The elder man's eyes gleamed a moment, and then he smiled slightly into his teacup. Connor wondered for a moment what sort of childhood Hatter might have had, that he couldn't just come out and ask for these gestures of friendship. On the other hand, maybe Connor could imagine it – living your life only according to what others could owe you or what you might owe others. Never trusting anyone. It must have been a real big step for Hatter, to fall in love.

"Did you have fun last night?" Hatter asked.

"Oh, yeah, that was a great party."

"Did you kiss her?"

"Hatter!" Connor's face turned red, but the Wonderlander kept a politely inquiring expression pasted on. After sputtering a moment, Connor answered, "No, I did not. Okay, I might have thought about it, but I also didn't want to get punched in the middle of Grace's party."

Hatter sighed, before smoothly refilling his tea cup. "We really need to do something about your self-confidence, little brother."

* * *

TWENTY-FIVE

_(the chambers assigned to Ms. Abby Maitland)_

Abby was hanging up the amethyst gown with a regretful sigh when Alice tapped on the door. The girl greeted the American woman with a grin.

"Good time last night?" Alice asked casually.

"Oh yeah. Well, except for that Dodo jerkoff."

Alice snickered. "You know, he actually shot Hatter once, right in front of me."

"You're kidding!"

"No, really. Luckily Hatter was wearing a Kevlar vest at the time."

"Holy crap."

Alice glanced over at the closet. Abby followed her gaze with a sigh. "I wish I could keep that," Abby said of the dress, "but there's no way I could explain returning with a posh frock, like I'd gone shopping through an anomaly or something."

"Well, it'll be here waiting for you. Now that you're family, Grace will probably set aside things she thinks will suit you, like she does for me."

"Family?" Abby echoed faintly.

"Well, sure." Alice gave the girl a wry grin. "You're our friend. Both of you. I know Hatter is going to miss Connor. He was pretty disturbed this morning to realize just how far away England is from New York. I think he was plotting get-togethers, until I explained that air travel was involved. And I'll miss you both too. You're the only people who…."

"We're the only people who know. People who've been to Wonderland and back."

Alice nodded, biting her lip. "All the other people who'd been kidnapped… when they went back through, they were given just a light spray of Forgetfulness. Just enough that they would think Wonderland was a dream. And… the Looking Glass sends people back to almost the moment they left. So it really did seem like a dream for them. But for me, Jack didn't let them spray me, so I remembered, but I still doubted – there was almost a whole day when I wondered if I'd just dreamed up Hatter."

"Wow," Abby breathed. "That must have been… hard."

Alice's face shone with the memory she related. "I was just about to give in, be depressed, and consign it all to a dream when Hatter showed up at my mother's apartment. I'll never forget that moment. He was as scared that I'd forgotten him, as I was afraid I'd imagined him. I looked up, and there he was – like a character from a book made real." She laughed. "I think we just about made my mom's head explode, because of course he kissed me, and in my mother's eyes, I'd just brought home a different guy the night before!"

Abby laughed with her. "Still, it must have been wonderful."

"It was. I'm so lucky." Alice's eyes turned sly. "You're lucky too, you know."

Abby groaned. "Were you a professional matchmaker in another life?!"

Alice snickered. "No, in this one." When Abby made another exasperated groan and threw herself onto the bed, Alice laughed and continued. "I'll make you a deal – I'll stop pushing if you promise me one thing."

Pushing herself up on her elbows, Abby asked, "What's that?"

Alice cocked her head to the side. "Stay in touch." There was a hint of pleading in her face.

Taken aback, Abby quickly assured her, "Yeah, of course!"

* * *

TWENTY-SIX

_(a Scarab, and the Looking Glass Chamber)_

Dressed in the clothing they'd worn when they arrived, Alice and Hatter, and Abby and Connor, joined Grace and Jack on a Scarab. Connor eagerly plied Jack with questions about the aerodynamics and propulsion systems on the strange air ship, until finally Jack led him up to the cockpit, and let the Suit piloting the thing answer as many questions as he could.

Abby manually loaded Alice and Hatter's numbers into hers and Connor's cell phones, as Alice did the same for Abby's and Connor's information.

Then Grace produced a small package for Abby. "I know you have to be able to hide this, but I hope you'll accept it anyway." In the small velvet bag were the silvery pearls Abby had worn for the ball.

"Oh, Grace, are you sure? These are yours." Abby gasped.

"I am sure, and they suit you much better than they do me," Grace insisted. Abby accepted the gift with a fierce hug for the future Queen. "You will come, to the wedding?"

"Of course! When will it be?"

Alice made a face. "It depends. My guess is… maybe in eight weeks for us?"

Hatter nodded, "Yeah, that sounds about right. It's what, six months from now?"

Grace confirmed the date, and Abby made a note in her phone's calendar. "The only problem is, Conn and I, we don't really get vacations. But I'll see what I can do."

The Scarab's progress was slow and stately across the great central lake of Wonderland. The Heart Castle was not so far from the City as the Casino had been, but it still took some time. Finally, it smoothly came to hover by the towering building that housed the Looking Glass.

The Ten of Clubs bowed formally as Jack led them all up to the Glass. "It's still set to New York, Your Majesty. All the agents have returned, so we can reset the temporal gauge for Lady Alice and Hatter."

"Very well, proceed." Jack ordered. A technician made an adjustment, and the Glass rippled and hummed a moment before settling.

"Well, this is it," Hatter said with a sigh. He shook hands with Jack, and gave Grace a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek. Alice hugged and kissed both of them, before turning to Abby and Connor.

"I'm so glad that you got accidentally pulled through the Looking Glass," she told them. She gave them both tight hugs and kisses.

Hatter smirked at Abby and gave her a hug. "Take care, lass," he said to her. Then he turned to Connor. For a moment, it seemed like the two identical men were holding a silent conversation, before each took a long step towards the other, and they engaged in a bone crushing hug. "Talk to you soon, little brother," Hatter said, and all were surprised to hear the emotion in his voice.

"I'll email you as soon as I get home," Connor promised back as they separated.

Alice took Hatter by the hand, and they walked up to the Glass together. With one last smile and wave, they stepped through the rippling substance in perfect unison.

"Wow," Connor breathed, staring at it.

Jack chuckled, and after ordering the technician to adjust for London, said to Connor, "I asked you a question yesterday, Connor. But I believe I already know your answer."

Turning to Jack, Connor flushed slightly. "Yeah. Sorry. It's a great offer but…. I belong there. I'm needed there."

"I understand. I'll admit I'm disappointed, but I understand." Jack offered his hand to Connor, and they shook in friendship. Grace hugged Abby then, and afterwards, Jack bowed over her hand and kissed it genteelly. "A pleasure, Ms Maitland."

Abby smiled. "Just Abby, Jack. Anytime you're in London, look us up."

Connor gave Grace a hug and a kiss, just as Hatter had. He grinned and said, "Sorry about yelling at you when we first met" which made Grace laugh.

"London connection is ready, Sire," the technician called.

"I guess this adventure's over," Connor said to Abby.

She grinned, and in an unusual move, took his hand. He blinked, glancing down at their clasped hands, and back up at her face. "Just this adventure, and just for now," she told him.

He let out a little huff of breath. "Right."

They walked up the steps to the Glass. In its reflection, they could see Jack and Grace behind them, Jack shifting close to Grace to lay an arm over her shoulders. Then Connor's eyes met Abby's in the Glass, and they smiled at each other.

"Force yourselves to breathe," advised the technician, and together, they stepped through the Looking Glass.

* * *

_to be continued_

_one part left, folks. _


	14. Chapter 14

TWENTY-SEVEN

_(an empty office building, London)_

The moan came from beneath her.

Abby blinked at the ceiling, then looked down the length of her body to realize that her legs were lying across Connor's chest.

"Ow." His voice sounded both pained and annoyed, but at least he sounded normal.

"Ugh," Abby grunted, before rolling over, away from him so that she didn't kick him in the face or anything.

"Alright?" he asked.

"Sore."

"Yeah," he agreed.

Abby carefully got to her feet. The Looking Glass shimmered behind them. The room looked like an empty office space, all empty desks and no people. Like the place was for let maybe. One wall was made up of entirely windows. When she looked out, she could see the familiar London scenery.

"Abbs!" Connor called her back, as the Looking Glass seemed to shudder, and then faded away to invisibility. "They've closed it."

For a moment, Abby thought she had no idea what he was talking about, but then the memories of their days in Wonderland flooded back; King Jack and Duchess Grace, Alice and Hatter, even Mad Sir Charlie. She shuddered to think they'd actually been in another world. Her hand dove of its own accord into her pocket to retrieve her phone. At first, it told her it was seeking a signal, then flashed the date and time at her as it connected.

It was the same day they'd rounded up a troupe of _smilodectes_.

Abby immediately pressed the number two to speed-dial Cutter. Number one was for voicemail. She'd never tell Connor that his phone was number three – not Jenny, not her little brother that she never talked about, but Connor.

"Cutter! Yeah, yeah, we're fine…. Connor too, yeah…. I don't know, we just woke up here, in an office building. Um, there _was_ an anomaly, it just closed," her eyes met Connor's as she made up the lie. "I don't know, Cutter, I was unconscious, alright? Yes, Connor too." She rolled her eyes – like she'd have any idea why there wasn't an alarm on the ADD. "You'd have to ask him to check it out. Cutter – we were coming back through, and then we were knocked out, and woke up here. I have no idea what happened!" She mouthed to Connor, _the hand-truck went back without us!_

Connor's amused grin lit up his face.

"Right, we'll find the exit and meet you. We're right up the street from the Bank of London. Yeah….yeah…. okay." She hung up the phone.

"We should … get our story straight, yeah?" Connor offered.

As they searched out the elevators, they went over their impressions of the Looking Glass, and came up with a reasonable story of feeling an electric shock, and then simply waking up in the office space, no other memories at all. Cutter had said they were missing for an hour.

"Just an hour," Connor murmured, looking like he was trying to understand how the Glass manipulated time. Then his phone beeped at him. He fished it out of his pocket, checked the message, and grinned brightly at Abby before turning it to show her.

_Home Safe? – Hatter&Alice_ it read.

Abby gasped in surprise and delight.

Quickly Connor texted back, _Home safe. Will email you soon. – C&A_

* * *

THE END

_I will be writing a series of one-shots, based on Primeval Series 3, showing what things Abby and Connor share with Hatter and Alice, and the advice they get back… and what happens when Hatter & Alice choose to get directly involved in Connor & Abby's lives._


	15. Teaser: Double Trouble

Introducing the sequel to Doppelganger Effect: Double Trouble

* * *

ONE

To say that he looked forward to those few minutes a day when he used the computer to read email would be to concede that he'd fallen into the technology trap of Alice's world, and Hatter was not prepared to admit that.

Actually, he much preferred the telephones, because if he couldn't see the person, at least he could read between the lines of tone and hesitation, the unconscious clues of breath. Unfortunately, Alice had carefully explained that time actually ran differently in other parts of her world, so when his little brother could be expected to be setting down with a nice cuppa after work, Hatter was still handling the Lunch Rush at his shop.

By the time Hatter had closed up shop at seven in the evening, gotten home, had dinner with Alice, and was prepared to relax, he couldn't call Connor, because the younger man ought to be asleep by then. And having listened to Abby's pointed comments about being woken up by the ring of the telephone once, Hatter wasn't inclined to face her ire again.

So he had to give in and use the computer to send instant letters back and forth.

_Hey Hatter,_

_Things are pretty quiet here. Everyone is still pretty grim, like they've been since Stephen died. Professor Cutter has been pissed off at the whole world ever since that day. I think I'm his favorite target. Abby says I shouldn't take it personally._

_You should definitely check out 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek' if you haven't seen them yet. Just watch the original three films on Star Wars. Also, you might like 'Firefly'. I think you'd find you have a lot in common with the captain._

_(Abby is now telling me not to turn you into a sci-fi fan, but I don't think she realizes Alice got there before me…)_

_[This is Abby – Connor's tastes should not be taken as normal for people on this side of the Glass by any stretch of the imagination. I'm sure you've run across the term 'geek' a couple of times by now.]_

_This is Connor again – I'll get Abby back for the geek comment eventually._

_Anyway, work is as crazy as ever. There haven't been any accidental side-trips, fortunately. You know I can't get more detailed than that. _

_I'm looking into getting a web-cam, so I can send you video messages too._

_Later,_

_Conn_

Hatter clicked on the reply button and started typing. He was still on what Alice called the 'hunt and peck' method, slowly picking out the words.

_Conn,_

_Tell Abby I said I've decided 'geek' is a compliment. Being smart isn't a bad thing…_

* * *

_To Be Continued…_


End file.
